Down the Rabbit Hole and Back Again
by Prpl Grl
Summary: Shikamaru ran from misery and found something he liked; an escape. He won't go back without a fight. !Mature Audiences ONLY! Yaoi
1. Down the Rabbit Hole and Back Again

!!Warning!! This story contains Yaoi, Drug Use, and mentions of Shouta and Incest-fetish.

Read at your own discretion.

Down the Rabbit Hole and Back Again

_Push, moan, thrust._

That's how it was. A routine, simple. It came quickly to Shikamaru Nara, after his first few times there. He had gone through very little training before his first customer; all the more experienced… _entertainers_ said he didn't need it. Shikamaru didn't argue, just did as he had been told.

_Squeeze, arch, growl._

Nobody minded his age. In fact, many of the people who came through preferred the younger ones. They liked the youthful, lean body beneath them. Many customers loved it; living out their fantasies of having that cute teenager who lived next door, or even the one they taught at school. Some even asked Shikamaru to call them by a parental status, to which he complied. That's what he did best, and why he was now one of the best-paid entertainers in the facility. The customers had come to call him the Pleaser.

_Groan, call out, __touch_

His gender hadn't been an issue either. There weren't very many males in that part of town who were willing to do what he was doing. Most of the customers he got were men, the symbol of their married status glimmering on their fingers. The ring never got taken off, and Shikamaru knew why. During the throws of passion, it would have been easy to loose such a small object. His customers couldn't risk being caught at what they were doing, and that suited him fine. It was all an act, after all.

_Scratch, pant, thrust harder._

Shikamaru was shaking. He always was, before a customer would enter the door to his lavish bedroom. It was probably one of the traits that got him his title and status; he acted like a virgin every time. In truth, he was scared. He didn't know what would come through his door, and he'd had a few frightening, rape-like experiences before. One customer had been so rough, Shikamaru couldn't walk or sit right for several days, to which he was not very happy. He had lost a lot of money trying to heal his broken body, which, he figured, was the whole point of it all. Money.

_Grab, pump, __bite_

It was all a routine. He knew how to make his customers reach an orgasm and hit it harder than they could imagine. They usually gave a little extra cash for that. Sometimes Shikamaru never reached completion, but he knew his own release wasn't important, unless it was what his client wanted. Some of them say they like to see him come, that his face is exquisite or beautiful, but Shikamaru doesn't pay any mind. After all, it didn't mean anything. That's how this business worked.

_Pull out, kneel, __suck_

Any sweet words said to him were locked away within his mind. It was always a funny subject matter with the others who lived there. They'd spend a few hours conversing about their clientele of the past; some of the sappiest things said, the most disgusting, and the most loving were a few on the list. Again anything said wasn't to be taken literally, nothing about what he was doing meant anything. For the client, it was merely a form of release, usually from a wife or girlfriend refusing to sleep in the same bed. For Shikamaru, it was for the money. He needed that precious currency to continue on with his life.

_Squeeze, suck harder, __swallow_

_Get paid._

That's how it was.

To say Shikamaru was happy would be an overstatement. He was not very proud of what he was doing, but he found out that many he worked alongside weren't either. It was just a way to make some extra money. Nothing more. Happiness was not to be found in this kind of place, and he knew that, after being there for several months already. However, he liked the other people living there, he liked their boss, he liked the money, and for the most part he liked the clients. Overall, he liked the place, which was why he never left.

He had not been happy before, living with his parents, going to school, and feeling his heart break every day. No, Shikamaru called that part of his life _misery_. He had fallen in love with people who didn't want him. He got his friends in trouble, though he was positive it had all been a set up. The guys his friends were dating beat him up on a regular basis, not liking how he looked at, talked to, or touched their boyfriends. It didn't take long for Shikamaru to be on outcast, receiving glares and threats almost daily. He didn't talk hardly at all, not even to his parents, who worried incisively over him. He didn't want it, what he wanted was an escape.

Which eventually led him to his current position as a very expensive entertainer, living in a large, beautiful room. Again, it was all part of the routine.

_G__et up, get laid, get paid, __get__ drugs. _

Simple.

That's how Shikamaru liked it.

His first taste into the contraband material came in the form of his current boss, Deidara. Shikamaru only knew his first name, that's how it was. Last names or family names were forbidden to talk about, which suited him fine, it made things less complicated.

The blonde haired man had come across Shikamaru as he was walking home from school, some months ago, now, maybe even a year. He had been feeling particularly down that day, when the feminine man had stepped up to him and offered him a drink, since it was extremely warm out. Shikamaru found himself accepting the offer; not having much human contact over an extended period of time will usually cause one to jump at the chance at some kind of contact. Talking with the blonde hadn't been disappointing, either. The man was kind to him and even mentioned that he noticed the teenager to be depressed. Shikamaru almost left at that, not wanting to talk about it, but then the blonde handed him a small syringe, filled with a clear liquid, and a small and short rubber hose.

That had been the start. Shikamaru had finally found his escape. It was wonderful every time he used it and had tried other forms of the same; the results making him smile and forget about his life. That was what he wanted.

After a few weeks, he couldn't pay for the expensive habit on just his allowance and was going to ask his friend Deidara how he could work it off. He ended up staying with the blonde man, however, when Shikamaru had been getting a ride from him after school. He had to stop by his house, but quickly told his friend to pass the house completely.

Three Konoha cop cars were sitting in the driveway.

There was usually only one, seeing as his father was a policeman and all. However, when his cop buddies stopped by, they never brought their squad cars.

Shikamaru had a stash.

It was then he realized someone had stumbled across his hidden syringe, rubber tie, and two or three little baggies with some left over amounts in them. He couldn't remember which narcotics he had saved.

Thus started his current, likable life. The misery was over. All that was left of his past with those people was a blocked out part of his mind and an eerie reminder every time he looked in the mirror. Every one always told him he looked like his father.

Which was why Shikamaru kept his hair down, slightly hiding his young, mid-teenage face. He felt it also made him look more seductive; it was amazing what a few loose locks could do to a person's libido. He liked it.

Shikamaru sat on the edge of his big bed, pulling up the sleeve of his purple kimono, which was tied loosely to his slender form. He reached to the small table sitting next to him and picked up the razor blade, carefully separating the white powder into even lines. Usually, he would share his bounty with the other entertainers, but today he felt like indulging on his own. Just the day before, he had made his customer come so hard he passed out. He felt that was enough for a private celebration.

He grabbed the rolled up dollar bill and leaned down, placed some hair behind his ear, and inhaled the addicting substance. Sniffing a few times to make sure not a single white flake was lost, Shikamaru put down the bill and grabbed a cigarette, which was already lit and sitting in the ashtray. He took a drag, his buzz becoming much more intense as he exhaled the smoke from his lungs.

He looked at the door lazily, as he could hear heavy footsteps pounding down the hall, stopping at his door. There was a very loud sound as the wood was kicked free of its frame, but Shikamaru didn't seem bothered. It wasn't until he noticed the gun pointing at him that he panicked.

Letting out a hoarse scream, Shikamaru scrambled back on his bed, eyes wide behind his dark locks. He leaned heavily on the opposite wall, his heavy and frightened breathing making his buzz cascade even more, while his body's adrenaline tried to cancel out the drug.

His dark eyes focused to the man as he slowly lowered his weapon. Shikamaru recognized his long, dirty blonde hair tied in a ponytail and the Konoha Police symbol on his vest, right underneath the large lettering, Yamanaka.

Shikamaru knew this man, but couldn't place him.

"Oh, shit," the officer said after a moment of staring at the teen. He holstered his gun just as another policemen jumped into the room.

This one was just as tall, covered in the same attire, with the same symbol branded to his chest. This man's hair wasn't nearly as long, though, and was kept at by with a bandana, which he had tied in the front. The lettering on him was Shiranui.

"What's the situation, Yamanaka?" the new arrival asked, keeping his gun pointed at the base of the bed. "The rest of the building is secure, and we were able to catch Deidara trying to flee with a handful of his whores. Is this the only one in the wing?"

The blonde officer nodded, scowling at the terrified Shikamaru.

The cops had just raided this place he liked.

He could not return to it.

"What's wrong, Yamanaka?" Shiranui asked, looking at the other with concern. "Do you know this kid?"

The other sighed. "That's Shikamaru," he whispered. "Shikaku's missing boy."

He flinched at the sound of his father's name. He didn't want to remember it, his past had been so _miserable_! Shikamaru didn't want to return to it, but he couldn't flee. The police were blocking his only exit and he highly doubted they were going to leave him alone, now.

"I'll stop Nara from coming down this way," Shiranui suddenly said, holstering his firearm and striding from the room. Not two seconds later, Shikamaru could hear his voice just outside the door, "Nara!"

"How's this wing?" a deep voice asked, an unpleasant shiver cascading down the teen's spine, the blonde keeping his gaze on the young man. "We've got the rest in custody and are on their way to be booked. One of the whores said there was another one on this end of the building. Did you secure the subject?"

"Yes, sir," Shiranui confirmed. "Yamanaka is apprehending the subject now."

"Good, I'll take little slut down to be processed."

"We can handle that, sir. Don't—"

Shikamaru began trembling uncontrollably, as his eyes made contact with that of his father, standing not a foot behind Yamanaka.

Shikaku's eyes widened in horror, his mouth opening a moment before closing again. He swallowed audibly and whispered, "Shikamaru?"

The teen lowered his gaze, turning his head so his hair could hide his face. Tears stung his eyes as he began rubbing at his arm.

He needed a hit.

Shikamaru needed a hit _badly_.

There were a few footsteps toward him, but they stopped, the officer named Yamanaka talking, "No, Shikaku, let us handle him."

"Yes," Shiranui agreed, "we'll book him, Nara." He paused a moment. "He has to be arrested, Nara. He's underage, whoring himself, and I can see cocaine on the table. There is no other choice."

A long silence fell around them for a few minutes, before Shikamaru heard his father sigh. "…I'll do it," he whispered.

"Are you sure?" Yamanaka asked, but he received no verbal answer.

The teen could hear the steps near his bed, and he fought the urge to look up. He didn't want to see his father; he didn't want to look into those disappointed eyes. Those eyes only looked at him back then, when he had been _mi__serable_! He didn't want to be miserable _again_!

"Shikamaru Nara," his father's voice boomed over him.

Despite his best efforts, Shikamaru looked up at the man, eyes widening slightly at what he saw. There was no disappointment, no anger, not even hate floating in his dark gaze.

_Tears._

_A small smile._

"You are under arrest."

_That's not how it was supposed to be._


	2. Forever Needing

Forever Needing

_Pain._

It surrounded him, making him feel dazed. It could not be pinpointed and his nerves lashed out in protest. Concentrating only granted him more.

He needed _something_.

He didn't know what.

His mind kept crying out, '_I need it! Give i__t to me!_' It was something he had been looking for and had found but was now being denied. What was it?

Did he just hear a scream?

Was it his own?

Darkness was his only answer, flashes of light flickering now and then. However, with the light came the never-ending pain. Why wouldn't it stop? Why couldn't it just leave him be? If only he had… whatever it was his mind was begging for, he knew the pain would vanish.

His mind agreed.

Time passed, but in what fashion, he did not know. He didn't know much, apparently. The darkness kept him company, whatever that was worth. There was nothing surrounding him, but he didn't particularly care for it. If only he could… see _something_. Not knowing where he was or what was going on had him in a panic. Opening his eyes was impossible, as he tried several times.

Another scream.

His body jumped.

The pain was starting to dim a little, his skin becoming slightly more sensitive to his surroundings. Someone was grasping his arm. Something cold slid into his flesh.

He heard a moan.

'_At last!_' his mind cried out. '_I need it!_'

He was disappointed as nothing further happened. He waited….

Nothing.

He was supposed to… feel something, right? Didn't the needle in his arm indicate that something… _pleasurable_ was going to happen? Why hadn't it?

Before he could think on it further, he was being swept into the unfeeling darkness once more. This time, however, it sucked him in so deep he completely blacked out. No memories, no thoughts… no pleasure.

Shikamaru was able to open his eyes, after a long battle with the consciousness and his own eyelids. He was nearly blinded by the whiteness of the room. His room wasn't bright. It was dark reds, purples, blues and blacks. Those colors were more comforting to his clients. Why was he in such a bright and uncomfortable room?

Where was he?

"Shikamaru?" a deep, male voice called out, a warm touch to his shoulder.

Slowly, the teen turned his head. His heart stopped as he gazed upon his father standing over him, his mother at his side. Panic rushed through his system; he needed to run. These people he knew back then, during that sorrowful time of his life. He didn't want to return to that!

Where was Deidara? He needed his friend, the one who gave him so much over the passed several months. Why wasn't he here?

Shikamaru tried to get out of the bed, but found that his limbs were securely strapped down. Why would his parents condone such an action? Did they figure he would try to run as soon as he woke up?

"What's wrong, son?" his father asked.

He tried once more to free himself and failed, his hand twitching. His arm itched and he wanted to scratch at it, as he usually did when needing his escape.

"I need a hit," he mumbled.

His mother released a strangled sob from behind his father, who turned to comfort her.

Shikamaru looked around the disgustingly white room, noticing a few bunches of flowers sitting on the windowsill. They did little to stifle the medical smell surrounding him. He saw a bag full of clear liquid hanging beside the bed, slowly leaking into a tube that was connected to his arm. He scowled, knowing that was not what he wanted injected into him.

He turned back to his parents, as the door to the room was opened and closed. An older blonde woman walked up to them, white lab coat draped over her curves, clipboard in hand.

"Good afternoon, Mister and Misses Nara," she said, voice old and wise. "I am Doctor Tsunade, I've been the doctor monitoring Shikamaru's progress over the passed two weeks."

His father wrapped an arm over his mother's shoulders as the doctor continued. "First, let me apologize for not meeting you in person until now. Your son's condition wavered very frantically and I was needed in his room most of the time."

"We were just glad you could send someone who could tell us what we needed to know," his father said, his tone quivering a little.

Tsunade nodded, looking at her clipboard. "It seems that most of the drugs have finally left Shikamaru's body, but I'm afraid this is only the tip of the iceberg of that situation. It appears he had been taking all different kinds of narcotics since before living in the whorehouse-" his mother sobbed again "-so the addiction will take longer to overcome."

Shikamaru turned his head away, forcing himself to ignore the conversation. What he had wasn't an _addiction_; it was a _need_. He needed to get that feeling back, the feeling that nothing mattered. It was his only way to feel anything besides the lingering throb in his chest and heartbroken tears in his eyes.

He needed his escape.

Why were these people keeping it from him?

……….

Nothing was simple anymore.

Shikamaru was free from the hospital, but he got thrown into a rehab clinic immediately after being discharged. Now, since he was still in police custody, he was confined to his room, only being allowed out with a police escort, the doctors of the establishment considering him a major flight risk.

Sure, Shikamaru wanted to run. The problem was, he had nowhere to go. Deidara was being held in a maximum-security prison. He couldn't even begin to list everything the man was being charged for. It just made him sad. Shikamaru knew what he had been doing was illegal, but he didn't care. It was something he liked to do.

He thought about his blonde haired friend a lot while sitting in rehab, ignoring the lectures and stories of fellow "addicts." He wondered if the man was all right, if he could write him a letter, something! He missed Deidara.

Barely a week after being transferred to the clinic, Shikamaru was visited by the local district attorney. He was a tall man, features sharp and intimidating. He reminded the teen of a particular client he'd had, someone who had been extremely rough with him. So it was normal that Shikamaru would be quivering a little at his presence, right?

The attorney, calling himself Ibiki Morino, claimed he was the person who would be taking Deidara to court. He wanted the teen to testify….

_Against __Deidara_

Shikamaru had adversely refused, not caring that he'd get the charges against himself dropped. He couldn't say bad things about his only friend, the one person who didn't judge him so quickly as those jerks at school had. The blonde man had given him someone to look forward to seeing every day.

His father wasn't happy about his son's decision at all.

Shikamaru didn't care.

He found he didn't care about a lot of things anymore. All he wanted now was his escape, which he was having a lot of trouble grasping.

Ibiki was adamant about his testimony, though, and kept badgering him for three weeks about it. Shikamaru had finally had enough and agreed to tell his story to a jury, though he told the attorney that he'd only tell the truth, and in no way did the truth implicate that Deidara harmed him or was a bad man. He saw him as a very good friend.

That had apparently satisfied the lawyer, but instead of his charges being dropped completely, Shikamaru would only be charged for misdemeanors, granting him nothing but a very long parole period.

Shikamaru didn't care.

……….

The trial came and went swiftly. Shikamaru's testimony did what he thought it would. Despite the fact that halfway through it he began scratching at his arm, he basically sugarcoated all that Deidara did. He told the jury that the blonde never once forced him to do anything. He took the drugs, became an entertainer (which he had to explain in great detail of what that was) and earned the money all on his own. His friend never once made him do anything he didn't want to.

Deidara got a lenient sentence, considering everything he'd been charged with.

It would still be some time before Shikamaru could see him again.

He couldn't wait.

Shortly after the trial, Shikamaru was released from rehab, the doctors claiming him to be "cured," although he still had to see a psychiatrist once a week, which he hated. Talking to a complete stranger about why he turned to drugs and prostitution was something he was not keen to do. He tried to stay silent most of the time.

He wasn't sure if it was working.

Only a week later, his parents began bugging him about school. He didn't want to go back, especially since he knew everyone in the entire city had heard where the "missing Nara boy" had been found, and what he'd been doing. Shikamaru was already getting some dirty looks from people on the street.

His therapist, a young, beautiful, dark haired woman by the name of Kurenai Yuhi, suggested to his parents a special school, one that dealt with "teens like Shikamaru." He wished he really knew what she meant by that. She gave them a brochure and the family discussed it.

By "family," Shikamaru knew that really referred to his parents; he doubted he'd get any say in it at all. In all reality, he didn't. The school was nearby, not overly expensive, and he could enroll right away.

That was the simplest way he could put it.

He didn't like these complications.

Especially the newest ones. With Shikamaru being on probation, it was impossible for him to go out and find his escape. Without an escape, he was beginning to feel trapped. He snapped at his parents, his therapist, the television… anything to try and burn off this aching need quivering just beneath his skin. He scratched his arm a lot, causing him to visit the hospital on a few occasions to make sure he hadn't started an infection in the ever-tender flesh. His parents bandaged him up, but that didn't stop it. Shikamaru knew he wouldn't stop until his need was fulfilled.

That time wasn't coming any time soon.

Starting school again wasn't something he wanted to do either. He had been "missing" for almost a whole year, so although he was the age of a sophomore, educationally he was still technically a freshman. This experience was not something to look forward to.

His parents drove him to the special educational facility and met with the principal, some tall, handsome blonde man Shikamaru was forced to call Namikaze-sensei. He missed the first name, not that he cared. The principal assured his parents that their "son will be happy attending classes here."

Shikamaru wanted to punch the bastard; where the hell did he get off telling him what made him happy? Instead, he merely scratched at his arm again, his mother stopping the action almost as quickly as he started it.

His parents soon left after that, and Namikaze took Shikamaru to his homeroom, which almost looked like a battle zone. Desks had been pushed everywhere, and teenagers were sitting about in circles, some talking quietly amongst themselves, others shouting to high heaven about nothing.

Shikamaru cringed, not liking the sight at all.

He hated crowds.

Turning to get a glance at the teacher's desk, he nearly jumped out of his skin as there was a very pale boy standing very close to him. His eyes regarded him curiously, and he leaned forward, Shikamaru swearing he could hear the boy inhaling the air around him.

"You're new," the boy stated.

Shikamaru scowled. "No shit, Sherlock."

"Language, Shikamaru," the blonde man said, gently.

The pale boy stuck out his hand, a small smile curving his lips. "I'm Sai."

Why did that name sound familiar?


	3. The Door of Need

"_When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us._" Alexander Graham Bell

The Door of Need

_There was a door._

_It stood before Shikamaru, blocking his path. It was made of very strong, old wood, yet was not aged. He had not been so complicated as some people, opening the door, closing it, just to open it again. When he had opened it, it had stayed open. He liked what was on the other side. It kept him sane. That was why he had not been very happy to be pulled from beyond the door._

_The door was slammed shut on him, the doorknob vanishing, and he couldn't budge it an inch. He pounded, scratched, and kicked at the offending wood. The struggle was long and tiring, but Shikamaru eventually realized that he couldn't tare it down, nor was there anyone on the other side to open it for him._

_He backed off; content to stare at the dented and scratched surface, as if that could help. After a few weeks, he began following the motions he knew he had to follow, but he kept his eye on that door, waiting. He knew his patience would eventually pay off; there would be a time when he looked at that door and would see the glittering of metal. Eventually, the doorknob would return, and he could get back to what he liked best._

Shikamaru was pissed.

No, maybe _furious_ would be the correct term.

He sat at his desk, glaring hotly at the dry erase board across the room, trying his best not to scratch at his arm. He didn't like the room. He didn't like the other teenagers surrounding him. He didn't like it here.

He needed his escape.

Shikamaru wrung his hands together, trying to ease some of the boiling anger and frustration that tore at him. He feared that if he didn't get what he needed soon, he might go on a rampage. His mind was steadfastly agreeing with him, anything to receive his escape. His muscles twitched in anticipation, hands curing into fists, eyes darkening as he let his needless mind begin taking him over.

"Shikamaru?"

His head snapped up, looking directly at the pale teen who greeted him on his first day. He sighed, pushing his rage down to twist and coil restlessly in the pit of his stomach. "What, Sai?" he nearly growled.

The pale teen only smiled. Nothing seemed to bother him. He got up and pushed his desk against Shikamaru's. "It's time for cooperative art," he said, slipping into his chair, their shoulders almost touching.

Shikamaru fought the urge to move away. Sai was one of those touchy-feely types. He knew he shouldn't be bothered by it, but since his… _capture_ he hadn't felt the need to touch anyone. He liked to physically connect as much as anybody, but previous experience taught him that he hadn't been allowed to here. Touching usually got him beat up.

"How are you liking this place?" Sai suddenly asked, eyes focused on the paper in front of him.

Shikamaru leaned over a bit and saw that he was already halfway finished with a drawing of a tiger. Sai's talent with art amazed the Nara to no end. His pencil glided against the paper swiftly, drawing faster than he thought was possible, while still having such incredible detail, one could've sworn it was a photograph.

"…I don't like it," he replied after a few minutes.

Sai paused to look at him a moment, before returning to his work. "Of course you don't. I don't think anyone does the first month or two. It takes a while to sink in." Without further hesitation, the pale teen pushed his finished product to Shikamaru, who looked it over.

For all of Sai's talent, he never did shading. He had told the Nara once that he didn't feel his artwork needed it. Shikamaru thought otherwise. Shading brought the pale teen's pieces of art out of the two-dimensional world, making them look even more breathtaking.

Shikamaru found that he could shade.

He set to work, grabbing the pale teen's pencil and began lightly rubbing the tip onto the page. He was not nearly as fast as the other, but he thought he did just as good of a job.

A few minutes into it, Shikamaru felt an arm wrap around his shoulders, warmth radiating from his side. He was used to this by now, after three weeks of sitting next to the artist, after he calmed down from the closeness, he expected the touch of the other. What surprised him the most though was that despite Sai's pale skin, he was actually quite warm.

Shikamaru liked the warmth.

Sai sighed, his breath tickling the Nara's neck. "I still don't know how you do that," he whispered.

Shikamaru ignored him and continued working, being very careful not to make a mistake. It would have been an insult to the other's work.

When he was almost finished, he had to stop, eyes widening a little as a hand began rubbing his inner thigh. He glared at the pale teen, who was giving him a small smile.

"What?" Sai asked, moving his hand farther up the Nara's leg. "From what I understand, you should be used to this kind of thing."

Shikamaru turned away; blush creeping onto his cheeks, his evil glare now attacking the tiger on his desk. "Curious about the rumors are you?" he accused, tone low and deadly.

Hot breath tickled his ear. "I'm curious whether or not the Pleaser can live up to the name."

His whole body stiffened, eyes growing wide again. He turned to face the pale teen, their noses almost touching. "How do you know that name?" he whispered.

Sai's only reply was a smile and a small squeeze to his groin.

_The door was still there. It hadn't budged._

_Shikamaru stood before it again, tired of glancing at it from time to time. He walked up to it, placing his hands against the damaged surface. Why wouldn't it open for him? His fingers curled into his palms and he slipped to his knees. His body was trembling. His arm kept twitching for the need he was now being denied._

_This door was his escape._

_'Open sesame' hadn't worked. Begging wasn't having an effect either._

_He pounded on the wood with his fists. Why, why, why?_

_Why were the people who "loved" him making him beg at a piece of wood? Why couldn't they see that he'd been better off with Deidara? Why didn't they notice that he'd chosen not to return? Why did they pull him back?_

_Why did he want to die?_

A few days later found Shikamaru standing before his parents, giving each other a worried glance. The teen sighed and crossed his arms, scowling at them. "Can't I even leave the house?" he asked, a slight snap in his voice.

"Of course you can," his father replied, concern floating into his dark gaze as he looked at his son. "We just don't know…."

"A lot of things can happen at a party, Shikamaru," his mother interjected.

He scowled harder. He hadn't done anything even close to hanging out with anybody since he'd been taken from Deidara, which was at least three months ago, if not more. Shikamaru had been having some difficulty grasping time lately.

"I thought you'd want me to socialize," he shot at them, pleased when they both gave him a shocked look.

"We do want you to socialize," his mother said, taking a step towards her son. "We just don't want you to…." '_…take drugs while you're away from us,_' although she didn't use those exact words.

Shikamaru continued to glare. He didn't pout often, but this was something he wanted to do. He was tired of being cooped up in his room all the time, dealing with his parents who were dead set on "being better than before," whatever that meant. Who ever said this had been about them?

His father sighed. "Who's throwing the party?" he asked again.

He closed his eyes, already having answered that question and the ones to follow at least three times. "I told you. Sai, he's a guy who goes to my school."

"Where is it?"

Shikamaru rattled off some address the pale teen had told him, not really caring. As long as it was away from here, he didn't care where he had to go.

"When?"

He sighed again. "Saturday night!" he snapped. "How many times are you going to ask me?"

It was his father's turn to sigh. He was a little surprised at his father's patience for him, though. Sometimes his mother would snap back, but his other parent was taking his snappish attitude in stride. "When would you be back?"

"Probably Sunday. Sai said he has a whole list of games and movies lined up."

His parents looked at each other again. Their looks told him that they were both thinking in the negative fashion and he looked down at his feet. The scowl melted off his face and he dropped one arm to his side, his hand holding onto it. It took quite a bit of restraint to keep from scratching at it. Not looking up, he spoke very softly, tone holding a twinge of begging, "…please?"

_It was all an act, after all._

_He was crying now, he knew it._

_He hoped that would work._

_It didn't._

_His arm twitched madly, his body quivered with an unfulfilled need. He could hear his voice echo around him, begging and pleading for the door in front of him to open. He didn't know how much longer he could last. Something had to give, and he prayed it was the door._

_He didn't want to snap._

_That would have caused the end of everything._

_Which would have been something nobody could pull him back from._

Sai had picked up Shikamaru at his house and proceeded to walk him to the party. He was so glad to be out of there a small smile was plastered on his lips. The pale teen noticed and immediately contributed it to the fact that Shikamaru was out with Sai, and it very closely resembled a date.

He had denied it, but the smile remained, until they rounded a corner and he saw four teenage boys walking toward them. He recognized them, and they appeared to remember him, if the shocked look on their faces was anything to go by.

"Shikamaru?" the blonde one asked, breaking away from his raven-haired boyfriend, who glared at him.

Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha.

Shikamaru was surprised that he remembered their names.

"No way," a brunette said, also releasing his longhaired, white-eyed boyfriend, whose glare matched the Uchiha's.

Kiba Inuzuka and Neji Hyuga.

Shikamaru felt his heart drop. He had fallen for the blonde and the dog lover, but Uchiha and Hyuga had beaten him to the punch. Ever since then, the two would give him a pounding any chance they got. Naruto and Kiba _had_ been really good friends of his, but their boyfriends felt threatened by his presence and warned him vocally and physically to stay away.

_He didn't want to remember._

"I thought we'd gotten rid of you," Sasuke said, walking up to wrap his arm around Naruto's waist in a very dominant manner.

Kiba glared at Shikamaru. "Yeah, didn't you become a slut or whore or something?"

Neji smirked as Shikamaru scowled. The Hyuga grabbed his boyfriend's hips from behind and whispered, "He did, but apparently he came back. You have nothing to worry about, Kiba. He won't hurt you."

The Nara closed his eyes. He had beat up the dog lover on one occasion, but he still thought it had been a set up. He usually wasn't one to listen to rumors, but there was one in particular that pissed him off a lot. It was said that the Inuzuka had been the one to start it. He got suspended for starting a fight on campus.

_He didn't want to remember._

"Okay, guys," Naruto suddenly voiced, "that's enough. You'd be pretty messed up, too, if you were taking drugs."

'_…Thanks, Uzumaki,_' he thought, bitterly.

"Oh yeah, that's right," Sasuke said, also smirking. "Shikamaru became a drug addict."

"I am _not_ addicted to drugs!!" Shikamaru shouted, looking fiercely at the group.

They took a step back, Sasuke and Neji wrapping protective arms around their shocked boyfriends.

"Easy, druggie," Neji said.

He was about to shout at the top of his lungs, when Sai suddenly stepped between them.

"Excuse me, do you have the time?" the pale boy asked.

Kiba blinked a moment, before looking down at his watch. "Uh, about quarter to seven."

"Damn!" Sai exclaimed. "Not nearly enough time to show all of you what a good penis feels like before the party. Oh, well, come on, Shikamaru!" He grabbed the Nara's hand and pushed passed the shocked group, continuing down the street.

A comfortable silence settled between them and Sai had a very amused smirk on his lips. Shikamaru also smiled a little.

"…Thanks, Sai," he whispered, squeezing his still clasped hand.

The other chuckled, returning the gesture. "I think they would be less bitchy if they all had a decent dick shoved up their asses."

He couldn't have agreed more as the pale teen led him up to a house, at the address he had promised, not that the Nara cared.

The inside was already bustling with people. Shikamaru could smell pizza and soda and even cigarettes. He smiled; maybe he would be able to bum a stick or two.

"I want you to meet someone," Sai said to him, pulling him up a staircase and into a bedroom. It was obviously the master, as it held one large bed, a couch and a loveseat, and a few lounge chairs. The pale skinned teen tugged Shikamaru over to a dark haired man sitting in one of the chairs, having a light conversation with a redheaded teen beside him.

His first impression was Sasuke, but after looking for a little while, he noticed several little things that definitely were not that irritating Uchiha.

"Hey, Itachi," Sai said excitedly, gently grabbing the man's shoulder.

The man turned his dark eyes to the pale teen, gaze slightly hidden by his locks of black hair. "Hello, Sai. How have you been; I haven't seen you in a long time." His voice was smooth and calm and almost soothing.

Sai smiled. "I've been doing fine. I want you to meet someone," he motioned to the Nara. "This is Shikamaru. Shikamaru, this is my good friend Itachi."

The man's eyes widened a moment, before settling on a very amused expression. "So this is Deidara's talented entertainer; the Pleaser, was it?"

This time his eyes widened. This man knew Deidara?

Before he could even answer a familiar aroma filled his nostrils. Shikamaru's eyes dropped to half massed as he inhaled that scent. He missed it, although he was used to heavier stuff, that little leaf had kept him satisfied until his next client.

_He _wanted_ to remember that._

A flash of light brought his attention to the door once again. His blood shot eyes widened, his arm twitched, and his body forced him to stand. Without the command from his brain, he reached out for the door one more time….

Itachi smirked at Shikamaru, and reached around to grab the joint the redheaded teen had just lit up. He took a drag from it, before reaching up to pass to the stunned teenager beside Sai. "Care for a hit?" he asked.

The doorknob had returned.

Shikamaru stared at the rolled paper a long moment, watching the smoke rise into the air, filling his nostrils with even more of that heavenly scent.

He _needed_ it.

He needed his escape.

He reached out with a shaky hand and grabbed the joint from the raven-haired man.

_The door finally opened._


	4. Happy Medium?

Happy Medium?

This was how it was supposed to be.

Shikamaru was _happy_.

It was the only word he could find to describe the feeling swirling inside him, although he was reluctant to do so. He never imagined he could have found a solution that compromised between his life with his parents and Deidara.

As it turned out, Sai was an entertainer who worked for Itachi. That night, Itachi had offered Shikamaru a job with him. The rules were a little different and he took a larger cut of the profit, but the drugs were better and he got to stay with his parents.

The raven-haired man thought differently from Deidara. While the blonde had preferred his entertainers stayed at one location, leaving their life behind, Itachi believed it was less suspicious to have his entertainers come to a certain location only a few times a week. In that way, they could continue their "normal" lives while still getting the same benefits as a full time entertainer.

Shikamaru liked that.

The job he had been offered was not exactly like his last one with Deidara, though. While at the party, Shikamaru and Sai had sex right there, in the bedroom, in front of dozens of people. Many had commented how they enjoyed watching the two. It gave Itachi an idea, so instead of having actual clients, Shikamaru and Sai would get together three times a week (for what he told his parents were "study nights") and make movies, with Itachi as their director.

After their homework was done, with the raven-haired man was adamant about, Shikamaru and Sai would have sex in front of a camera two or three times, then get high. It was a new routine that the Nara found he liked.

He liked it a lot.

He found himself smiling a lot more. Shikamaru was even talking to his parents without snapping. His need was being fulfilled and his lust calmed. Life just seemed a whole lot better.

He was happy.

He should have known all good things must come to an end.

"Shikamaru, could you set the table?" his mother called out one Sunday night. He quickly obliged. His parents weren't nearly as irritating anymore and were none the wiser to his new routine, which had been going on for well over a month now.

As soon as he finished placing the silverware onto the table, his father walked into the house, followed by his close friend and fellow cop Chouza Akimichi. His father looked grim; a scowl was set onto his features and his eyes were sad.

"Rough day?" Shikamaru asked, going to grab another plate for their guest; his father would bring one or both of his friends home from time to time.

"Shikamaru," his father commanded, softly, "I think you should sit down."

He raised an eyebrow and placed the china on the table. "Why?"

"Shikamaru, listen." Shikaku grabbed his son's shoulders and looked into his eyes. "I've… got some bad news."

The teen stood still as his father sighed and took a few steps back, curiosity keeping him quiet.

"Sai… is dead."

His eyes widened and his heart skipped a beat. A dark feeling began to pool within his chest, making breathing somewhat difficult.

'_No,_' he thought, shaking his head. "He can't be," Shikamaru said, releasing a small laugh to try and ease the tension within him.

His father merely gave him a sad expression.

The small smile that had been on his face vanished and he gazed at the floor. '_No…._'

"He was found this afternoon," his father continued, his tone soft. "The coroner… believed Sai was killed from a drug overdose."

Shikamaru flinched. Since when had the pale teen gotten stupid? That idiot should have known when enough was too much! He… he couldn't leave Shikamaru. They had been friends, lovers.

His routine was shattered.

_Again._

Several minutes passed in silence, the teen fighting a battle he could never win, trying to figure out how Sai could have been murdered. Maybe someone covered it up by making it look like a drug overdose. Maybe the coroner was mistaken; he had just seen the pale teen yesterday!

"Shikamaru?" his father asked, taking a step closer to him.

"I'm all right," he said, maybe a little to quickly, retreating a step. He looked away from his father and walked to the stairs. "I'm all right," he repeated, slowly walking to the second floor of the house, opening the door to his room.

Closing it behind him, Shikamaru leaned against the cool wood, glancing up at his ceiling. It was a beautiful sky blue, with white, fluffy clouds painted on its surface. He loved to gaze up at the clouds; when he was a child, they had lived in the country, and it had been his favorite pastime. Moving into a city had been hard on him, and his parents had surprised him by painting the ceiling. His bed sat underneath his favorite cloud, one he could conjure into fifteen different shapes, when looked at correctly. It was always fun to stare at it.

It brought him no comfort now.

He walked to his bed and sat down on the sheets, his eyes drifting to the picture on his nightstand. His chest tightened and an all too familiar darkness reached out. He could almost hear the mocking voice greet him, _"I'm baaaack!"_

Misery had returned.

Tears stung his eyes and Shikamaru placed his face within his hands, quietly sobbing.

He should have known better.

'_Some people just aren't allowed to have happiness,_' he bitterly thought. He just wished someone had told him. He never should have gotten so far as to be _happy_. He should have stayed away from people and drowned in his misery. Then maybe the closest thing he had to a friend might still be alive.

'_Maybe I'm the real idiot._'

Maybe this was all his fault.

If he hadn't gone to Deidara, his parents wouldn't have spent so much time and effort to find him (which he had just recently found out about) and he'd still be going to that stupid public school, getting beat up daily. Everyone around him would have been happy; what did his own matter?

Shikamaru wiped the tears from his face and slowly stood, glaring at the picture.

Sai stood with an arm around the Nara, smiling brightly to the camera.

This would be the start of it, he knew. His parents would start asking him questions again. They would suspect him of getting back into drugs, seeing as the guy he hung out with a lot just overdosed. There would be questions up the ass about what he and the pale teen had done on their nights together, and that might lead them to the movies that had been made. Drug tests, court dates, and rehab clinics; that's what Shikamaru saw in his immediate future.

For tonight, however, he figured he would be left alone.

Pushing back the tears that wanted to continue flowing, he walked over to his desk. He grabbed the edge and very slowly and carefully picked up the heavy wood and moved it away from the wall. Shikamaru knelt down and grabbed at the air conditioning vent, gently removing it. He reached inside the duct and took out a small box, about the size of a soda can.

Usually, he only did drugs three times a week, when he'd visit Sai.

This was his emergency stash.

He placed the box on the desk and removed the cover. Inside it was a fresh syringe, a rubber tie, and small bottle with a bit of clear liquid.

The darkness within him pulsed harshly, causing a gasp to escape his lips. It had been quite sometime since he had felt it, and Shikamaru couldn't help but think that it had gotten stronger.

He grabbed the syringe and poked the needle into the cork top of the bottle. He didn't pay attention to the numbers on it as he emptied the container. All he knew was that this would quiet the darkness for a time, maybe long enough for him to sleep without unpleasant memories.

Sitting back on the bed, he pulled up the short sleeve of his shirt and tied the rubber around his arm. He worked very slowly, finding the correct vein, pushing the metal into his flesh, watching as he injected every drop into his blood stream.

When it was over, Shikamaru placed the used needle and rubber tie on the nightstand and lied down, staring up at his favorite cloud.

He watched as it morphed and contracted as a real cloud would. Tears came to his eyes again, the puff of white looking like the pale teen.

_"You're new."_

_"No shit, Sherlock."_

_The cloud smiled. "I'm Sai."_

Shikamaru turned his head away, his gaze now focused on the picture. Sai was moving there, too. The arm that wasn't around Shikamaru's shoulders brought his hand up to grope at his groin.

The Shikamaru in the photograph glared at the other.

_"What? From what I understand, you should be used to this kind of thing."_

_"Curious about the rumors are you?"_

_"I'm curious whether or not the Pleaser can live up to the name."_

Shikamaru placed his hands over his face, covering his tear filled eyes.

He didn't want to remember.

Time passed him slowly, although he wasn't even given solitude within the darkness of his mind. Words Sai had spoken to him kept popping out of nowhere, making the darkness swell, the drug doing little to stifle it.

_"You have a nice dick."_

_"I'm surprised you're not rusty, since you haven't done it in such a long time."_

_"Oh, yes…. Suck my cock…."_

_"Let's make this show the one people remember."_

_"You are a fantastic lover."_

_"I guess 'the Pleaser' was a very correct name for you."_

"Shut up," Shikamaru whispered, trying to quiet the onslaught. His mind was bringing up emotions that he refused to acknowledge and scenes he didn't want to see.

That beautiful pale body writhing beneath him.

_Water trailed down to Sai's erection, and Shikamaru licked his lips in anticipation._

_Sai's goofy smile when he smoked a joint always brought a smile to Shikamaru's face._

_That pale hand moved quickly on his stiff manhood, moaning and arching, shooting hot cum on Shikamaru's clothed groin._

"Stop it!" he almost shouted, sitting up incredibly fast. His vision blurred a moment before he sighed, trying to calm his racing heart. Rubbing his temple, he looked over at the picture again and shook his head. '_Idiot,_' though to who he was referring, Shikamaru didn't know. He spotted the discarded syringe and rubber tie. Figuring it would be best to put them away before he fell asleep, he grabbed the items and stood from the bed.

As soon as his body left the sheets, his mind began swirling heavily, his vision spinning the room to odd angles, a heavy wave of nausea clenching at his stomach. He tumbled to the floor, his heartbeat pounding hard in his chest.

Shikamaru looked at the needle in his hand and his dark eyes widened.

He couldn't remember how much he had put in it.

The bottle was empty.

He had taken too much.

He lied there for a few moments, breathing heavy as panic began settling in on his mind. What was he supposed to do?

There was a knock on his door. "Shikamaru?" Was that his father or his mother? He couldn't tell.

Praying to whatever god that would listen that it was his male parent, he found enough strength to move another foot before his muscles became jelly and he collapsed completely.

A harder knock and louder voice followed.

Shikamaru's eyelids were growing very heavy and darkness tinged the edges of his vision. "Dad…" he whispered, his voice leaving him after that one word. He saw the door open, before his lids shut out the world around him throwing him into darkness, the rest of his sentence never leaving his lips.

_"…help me."_


	5. Father of Mine

Father of Mine

With tears in his eyes, Shikaku smiled.

Shikamaru's disappearance had been sudden. Shikaku and his wife, Yoshino, were worried earlier on, after Yoshino had come across the narcotics hidden in their son's room. When he never came home that day, however, their worry had nearly escalated into panic.

Getting leave from work, Shikaku spent all his time scouting the entire city. His friends, Chouza Akimichi and Inoichi Yamanaka, searched alongside him, to which he was grateful.

Neither of them slept much during the following months, as all the leads that were found led to dead ends. Shikaku had been surprised to find that nobody at the school had really had a conversation with his son for quite some time. Most of them had just shrugged when asked about Shikamaru and said he was not a close friend.

It seemed Shikamaru didn't have any friends.

Chouji Akimichi, Chouza's son, even admitted that the two had a falling out, and hadn't spoken to each other for months. That surprised Shikaku; Shikamaru and Chouji had been extremely close for a long time. He found it odd that his son had never told him.

Two months passed without any luck, and Shikaku had to return to work, although he still went out as much as possible looking for his son. He and his wife put out a reward regarding any information on Shikamaru, but were unsuccessful. Posters hung all over the city with a picture of their missing son, promising a handsome bounty if anyone found him.

Shikaku and Yoshino hoped he would be found… _alive_.

Their friends and family warned them, and Shikaku knew the chances as time wore on that finding Shikamaru living were getting smaller. Working for the Konoha Police, the Nara had seen it before; drug addicted teen runs away from home, lives on the streets, and is usually found dead a few months later. The reason for the death varied from suicide to drug overdose, and every time an unidentified teenage male body was found, Shikaku found himself wondering if it was Shikamaru.

Over time, worry had escalated to fear.

Whenever the phone rang, both Shikaku and Yoshino hoped it was their son, lost and wanting to come home, but the question always lingered in the back of the policeman's mind; what would he say to his son?

He wasn't sure if he should yell at him for being stupid and taking the dangerous narcotics, or hold his only child and never allow him to leave the house again.

After five unsuccessful months, Yoshino became very depressed and had turned to alcohol. At first, she claimed it was just a way to calm her nerves, so she could sleep at night. It soon intensified into alcoholism. She would scream at her husband, listing off reasons as to why Shikamaru left, and it was all Shikaku's fault.

Shikaku had already believed it to be true, without his wife's nightly tirades. He thought he might have stressed some things too much with their son, causing him to want to runaway.

He was becoming overstressed, and his friends could tell. Without Chouza and Inoichi, Shikaku knew his wife would have divorced him and probably died from alcohol poisoning, while he would have been shot out on the street, searching for his missing son in the early hours of the morning.

Inoichi had sat down with Yoshino and told her how much everyone was worried about her, as Chouza kept Shikaku company; trying to calm down the overstressed, sleepless policeman.

Within a few weeks, the couple had reconciled and continued their search of Shikamaru.

By the time the ten-month anniversary rolled by, they had all but given up on finding their son alive. They were waiting for a call from the coroner's office, or from Shikaku's chief confirming that Shikamaru's body had been found.

Their hopes were not very high in the alternative.

At work, Shikaku and his comrades were assigned to raid a building not too far out of town. It was said to be owned by the Akatsuki, a well-known band of criminals who had, so far, eluded capture for their various crimes and were said to be running several prostitution rings throughout the entire country, not just within Konoha.

Their target was the brilliant, feminine Deidara. They were ordered to raid the building and take everyone alive, including the elusive blonde.

Shikaku was actually glad for the distraction. He decided not to worry about his son or his wife and just focus on his job. It felt good to forget about it for a while, giving his stress filled mind a while to relax from situations months old.

Following carefully planned orders, the Nara went in with Chouza; Inoichi entered the building from the other side with a fellow cop Genma Shiranui. They successfully captured Deidara and most of his whores. One blonde haired feisty young woman blurted out that the best "entertainer" was at the other end of the building. Shikaku followed up on that lead and nearly ran into Genma as he exited a room.

"Nara!" he said, surprise in his voice. His eyes widened a moment and flickered to the door behind him, before settling on his usual relaxed expression.

Shikaku found that odd. "How's this wing?" he asked, looking down the hall a moment. "We've got the rest in custody and are on their way to be booked. One of the whores said there was another one on this end of the building. Did you secure the subject?"

Genma's posture straightened a bit. "Yes, sir, Yamanaka is apprehending the subject now."

The Nara nodded. "Good, I'll take little slut down to be processed." He began walking around the slightly shorter man, ignoring his words.

He spoke quickly, trying to grab Shikaku before he could reach the door not two feet away. "We can handle that, sir. Don't—"

Shikaku entered the room, his eyes immediately falling on a teenage boy cowering on the bed. He was wearing a long, purple kimono, which had fallen off one shoulder, exposing familiar tan skin. His hair was down and hid most of his face, but the Nara would have recognized that boy anywhere.

His eyes widened and he opened his mouth to speak, but he found his mouth and throat to be completely devoid of any moisture. He swallowed and tried again, his voice barely above a whisper. "Shikamaru?"

The boy turned away and Shikaku knew this was his son. _It had to be._

He began walking toward the bed, but Inoichi had stopped him. He heard the words being said to him, but they merely floated around his mind. It took the elder Nara a few minutes to process all that his comrades had said. Once they had, he knew they were right; the teenager on the bed had to be arrested.

Shikaku sighed heavily, his voice stronger than he felt. "…I'll do it." Ignoring his blonde friend, he walked up to the bed and looked down at the boy. His heart began to swell.

This was his son.

"Shikamaru Nara."

The purple clad teenager slowly looked up at his father and Shikaku could not stop the tears forming in his eyes if he wanted to, a small smile appeared as a wonderful feeling spread throughout his body.

Shikamaru was alive.

"You're under arrest."

That's how he hoped it would be.

"I didn't want to question it," Shikaku stated, sitting at the table beside Yoshino, Chouza across from them.

He had watched his son ascend the stairs with a sad expression. He had never gotten used to telling people someone they cared about was dead.

"Shikamaru just seemed so… _happy_," he continued, his wife grasping his hand, "and I didn't want that happiness disturbed. I haven't seen him like that in a long time."

"Even before he ran away," Yoshino added, "he always seemed depressed, but would never talk about it."

Chouza nodded. "I know dealing with teens can be difficult; Chouji can be tough to handle sometimes, especially if he's fighting with Inoichi's kid." He leaned across the table, looking seriously at the Nara's, lowering his voice. "But you do know that he'll have to be tested, right?"

Shikaku closed his eyes and nodded slowly. With Shikamaru's closest friend having died of a drug overdose, it was almost certain that his son had picked up the habit again. Why their only child would go back to it, Shikaku would never know.

Yoshino tightened her hold on her husband's hand. "I hope he wasn't that stupid," she muttered.

"Me too," Shikaku answered, "but there's always that chance. The word around that block is that Sai was heavy into drugs. There's also a rumor that he was… an 'entertainer' working for a member of the Akatsuki."

His wife shivered. "I wish you guys could catch those bastards. I mean, how sick can you be? Enlisting children to whore for you while getting them hooked on drugs. It's disgusting!"

Shikaku was about to agree with her, when a loud 'thud' resounded over their heads. They looked up at the ceiling, then at each other. A feeling of dread began to pool in the pit of the male Nara's stomach as he looked at his wife.

Shikamaru's bedroom was above them.

"I'll check on him," Shikaku announced, releasing his wife's hand and heading up the stairs. His heart began to beat frantically within his chest as he walked up to his son's door. He got the distinct feeling he wasn't going to like what he found.

Pushing back the feeling, Shikaku gently knocked on the door. "Shikamaru?"

There was no answer and he couldn't hear anything on the other side. Knocking harder, he spoke a little louder. "Shikamaru, are you all right?"

Silence was his only answer.

Slowly, Shikaku turned the knob and opened the door. His eyes first fell on the bed a little confused to find it empty. He then looked to the floor and he felt his heart fall into his stomach, finding his son sprawled out on the polished wood.

"Shikamaru!" he cried, running over and turning his son over to lie on his back in his arms.

Shikaku lightly slapped the teen's cheeks. "Shikamaru! Shikamaru, wake up!"

'_Why won't he open his eyes?!_'

He glanced down to his son's hands, noticing a syringe and a rubber hose still within his grasp.

The older Nara's heart skipped a beat. "Oh, no." He looked at the desk and saw a tiny, empty bottle sitting beside a box. He grabbed the bottle, cursing when he found it was without a label, and shoved it in his jacket pocket.

"Shikamaru!" he tried one last time to rouse his son and was unsuccessful. "Oh shit!" He could feel the teen's breathing begin to slow a little and he immediately picked up his son, cradling him in his arms like a newborn child.

"Chouza!" he screamed, carefully, but swiftly walking down the stairs. "Chouza, get the squad car!"

The large policeman appeared at the base of the stairs, his eyes growing wide for a moment, before he bolted out the door.

"What's going…? What's wrong with Shikamaru?!" Yoshino asked, appearing from the kitchen.

Shikaku headed for the door, his wife right behind him. "I'm not sure," he responded. "It's possible he tried to overdose."

"What?!"

"Come on!" he said, walking into the cool evening air, Chouza just opening the back door to the running squad car. "We've gotta get him to the hospital."

Shikaku squeezed into the back seat with his prone son, Yoshino sitting in the front, Chouza quickly making sure everyone was secure before hitting the lights and sirens and tore out of the driveway.

"Come on, Shikamaru," Shikaku whispered, still trying to rouse the teen. "Open your eyes, son." He could feel his eyes begin to water, as his only child didn't respond. '_Please,_' he silently prayed, '_please, don't take my son away from me._'

"Shikaku!"

The man looked up at Chouza's booming voice. "What?"

"What did Shikamaru take?"

He looked to see the radio microphone in his large hand and Shikaku realized he was calling ahead to the hospital. "I don't know. I've got the bottle, but there's no label on it."

Chouza nodded and relayed the information, Shikaku focusing on his son again.

'_His face looks so peaceful,_' he thought. He remembered a time, long ago, when Shikamaru was just a toddler that he used to fall asleep like that; curled up on the couch, using his father's thigh as a pillow. He thought it was too cute. Yoshino had taken some pictures.

'_I should look for those._'

Shikaku then realized that he hadn't held his son since he had been a mere child. He gave his wife kisses and hugs, but he hadn't even patted Shikamaru on the shoulder in the longest time. He wasn't afraid of physical contact; maybe he thought his son was?

He was fairly certain Shikamaru had grown away from touching anybody since that fight he'd had with that Inuzuka boy. Perhaps, though, it had more to do with the beatings he'd received.

Shikamaru never said anything, but Shikaku worked around victims like that everyday. He could spot when his son limped a little or flinched when he sat down for dinner, even the occasional black eye hadn't gotten past his father.

Shikaku once confronted him about it, but his son was adamant about not saying any names and insisted it was no big deal; he didn't want his "policeman father making a big fuss over something so trivial." He never brought up the subject again.

Maybe he should have.

Shikaku could see so many mistakes he had made in the past and wished for a way to correct them. He should have been closer to his son, should have helped him more; the list was endless.

"How is he?" Yoshino's uncharacteristically timid voice said, breaking his thoughts.

Shikaku looked up at his wife and then gazed at their son once more, this time as a police officer.

Shikamaru's skin had paled quite a bit, his breathing was slower than before and his heartbeat was becoming sluggish.

The Nara shook his head, eyes glancing to the other officer in the car. "What's taking so damn long?! We should be there by now!"

"Easy, Shikaku," Chouza commanded, gently. "We're almost there."

After another three minutes, feeling like three hours to the Nara's, the squad car pulled up to the emergency entrance of the hospital. A stretcher and group of doctors and nurses were already huddled outside.

As soon as the car stopped, Shikaku's door was opened and he climbed out, two other nurses helping him pull out his son and place him on the stretcher.

They started jogging into the building, Doctor Tsunade immediately checking Shikamaru's vital signs. "What did he take?" she asked quickly, not looking at the Nara's.

"No idea," Shikaku repeated, grabbing the bottle from his pocket. "I think this is what he took, though."

She grabbed the empty container and tossed it too a nurse. "Take that to be tested now!" The person nodded and took off.

The group rounded a corner and Shikaku and Yoshino were forced to stop as their son was pushed through double doors, where the team inside began scrambling around frantically.

A nurse they recognized as Tsunade's personal assistant, Shizune, walked up to them. "Why don't you sit over there," she suggested softly, pointing to the waiting area. "Lady Tsunade will update you as soon as she can."

Shikaku wrapped his arms around his wife's trembling shoulders a moment. "I'll check him in," he whispered. She nodded against his chest and sighed heavily, wiping the tears from her face and walking away.

Shikaku also released a long breath and walked up to the desk to fill out the necessary paperwork. His eyes kept glancing to the double doors, where he could see his son being fussed over by the various nurses and doctors.

Shizune came jogging down the hall with a file in her hand as the Nara began writing. She opened the door and Shikaku could hear Tsunade's shrill voice.

"I'm getting no pulse! Start resuscitation now!"

Shikaku dropped the pen.


	6. Concern of Another

Concern of Another

Naruto Uzumaki waited patiently at the kitchen table. He had finally finished his homework and was now waiting for his father to return home so he could check it. Being a principle at another school, Minato Namikaze wanted to make sure his son was doing his work right.

They had just finished with supper when the blonde's father had gotten a phone call and he immediately rushed out the door, telling his son that he'd be back later.

Naruto didn't like the look on the older man's face.

Since he worked with kids who had really rough pasts, it was a normal occurrence that he'd get a call about one being killed or running away, and Minato was adamant about being there to try and help the parents or guardians through the tough period.

Naruto wondered who he had gone to help. He sometimes wished he could go, wanting to help out in some way, but his father had told him not to worry about it and very rarely told him anything about what had just transpired. He figured that maybe his father was just trying to protect him, but the blonde teen wanted to know.

He yawned, laying his head on his folded arms. The clock was reading about ten at night; his father had been gone for a few hours. It was rare for him to be gone for this long.

Sighing deeply, Naruto closed his eyes, slowly starting to doze off when he heard the door to the house open and close. He raised his head, smiling brightly as his tall father walked into the kitchen.

Minato looked at his son and the smile faded from the teen's face. His father looked worn, a deep frown on his lips and his blue eyes, normally just as bright as his son's, had dulled to almost a midnight blue.

Naruto knew something bad had happened.

The older blonde slowly walked to the table and sat beside his son, looking into his eyes with a sad gaze.

Naruto raised a golden eyebrow. "What is it, Dad?" he asked, softly.

Minato sighed, dropping his gaze a moment. "…Shikamaru Nara."

The teen's cerulean eyes widened slightly. "What about him?"

His father placed a hand on his shoulder. "He… he came very, very close to overdosing on drugs tonight."

Naruto kept his orbs on his surviving parent for a moment, before dropping them to the table. "…Did he… die?"

"No, but… the next twenty-four hours will be crucial."

Slowly, the teen nodded, keeping his eyes down. A familiar cold spike of fear ran down his spine, something he hadn't felt since he was a child.

Despite what the others thought, Naruto didn't hate Shikamaru. Maybe he had been mad at him for a while, but he realized too late that he had no real reason to be. By the time the blonde found out the truth, the Nara had disappeared and he had no way to tell the other how he really felt.

Minato lightly squeezed his son's shoulder. "Are you all right, Naruto?" he gently asked.

Naruto didn't know how to answer, so he merely gave a small shrug. He shouldn't be "all right," but he didn't feel panicked either.

His father patted him on the back. "Why don't you get ready for bed? I'll check your work over and leave here on the table for you."

The teen numbly nodded and left the kitchen without another word.

'_Shikamaru could die._'

It was the only thought in Naruto's head as he made his way to his bedroom. Those three words echoed in his head as he undressed and put on his pajamas. Even when he was brushing his teeth, the small sentence danced around the room as if he was saying them aloud. He climbed into bed and lied on his back, staring at the ceiling.

'_Shikamaru could die._'

…_die_…

Something clenched around Naruto's chest, tears coming to his eyes as the words finally sank in. The Nara had a good chance of passing on from this life within the next day, and the blonde would never see him again. He would be gone… forever.

He turned onto his side and grabbed the stuffed fox he kept under his pillows, holding it tightly. It usually brought the teen comfort, but didn't seem to be doing any good this time.

Confusion began swirling around his mind. What was this feeling inside his chest? Why did it make him feel like crying? Was it… that he didn't wish for the Nara's death? Well, that Naruto could understand, but to want to lie there and pray all night that the other would live…. That would be a bit extreme, wouldn't it? It's not like the two had ever been _that_ close. Besides the time they had bumped into each other on the street, it had been over a year since the blonde had even talked to Shikamaru.

Why were these feelings inside so strong?

It didn't make any _sense_!

Naruto sat up, wiping away the few tears that had managed to escape his eyes and got out of bed. He hadn't been lying there for more than ten minutes, but he knew he couldn't analyze this on his own. If he waited any longer, his father would be in bed and he'd have to wait until morning.

The blonde was never known for his patience.

Still clutching his beloved stuffed fox, an old, dirty toy that had been given to him by his late mother, Naruto walked to his father's room, seeing that the kitchen light had been turned out.

The door was open and light streamed into the hallway. The teen quietly stepped up to the doorway. His father was sitting at his desk, doing his usual paper work.

Naruto hated interrupting him while he was busy and leaned against the doorframe, hugging the fox close, staring at the floor. He wondered where Shikamaru was, what kind of condition he was in. Did they have him on life support? Was he holding onto life by a mere thread?

…_Had he already passed on?_

He held onto the fox tighter, trembling at the thought. Why did it scare him so much?

"Naruto?" his father voiced, cutting into his thoughts.

The teen's blue eyes snapped to the older man as he stood, looking at him with concern.

"Couldn't sleep?"

Naruto shook his head, looking away, raising the fox within his arms to cover his heart, as if it could help chase away the feeling of dread spreading quickly throughout his mind and soul.

Minato walked up to his son, placing a hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong?"

The teen looked up at him a moment, his father being about a head taller than him, then averting his gaze again. The strong feeling inside his chest grew, forming a lump in his throat and tears in his eyes.

He didn't want it.

"Naruto?" his father asked, giving his shoulder a light squeeze.

The shorter blonde looked up at him again. He took a couple deep breaths, trying to quell the terror growing steadily around his heart, swallowing the lump in his throat that threatened to choke him.

"…I don't want Shikamaru to die," he whispered. Those words shattered his restraint and tears began falling from his eyes.

Minato wrapped his arms around his son, holding him tightly as he cried. It made his heart break to see his only son like this and he whispered to him, trying to comfort the upset teen, rocking him gently like he used to when he'd been a baby.

It was a while later when Naruto had calmed down enough to at least stop the onslaught of tears and he could breathe again.

The taller blonde sat him on the bed. "Are you all right now?"

The teen shook his head. "Not really, I mean…." He sighed in frustration, his lip quivering. He focused his bloodshot eyes on the stuffed animal still in his hands. "I'm not sure what I mean, Dad. I… don't understand what I'm feeling and it's… kinda confusing." His father ruffled his hair, making the younger man glare up at him.

Minato smiled. "Can we talk about it after I take a quick shower?"

Naruto tried to smile, but his lips only curved up into a sad smirk. "Sure."

His father nodded. "I'll just be a little bit," he said as he walked into the bathroom, leaving the door open a crack.

The blonde teen stared at the wall, a few stray tears falling from his blue eyes. He was glad his father was there. Even though it was late and they both had to get up in the morning, he was willing to talk to his son.

For a while, when Naruto had been a child, he had been separated from his parents. They refused to tell him exactly why, even to this day, but it had not been a fun experience. He lived in several orphanages and foster homes until he was nearly twelve. People had him believing that he was an orphan or that his parents didn't care about him and dumped him off with someone else.

It was the loneliest time of his life.

A loud ringing filled the room, making the young blonde jump, nearly falling off the bed. He looked to see his father's cell phone lighting up on the desk and he sighed, trying to calm his racing heart.

"Could you get that, Naruto?" Minato called over the roar of the shower.

Naruto quickly dashed to the loud object, noticing the name on the face read "Nara." He flipped it open and placed it up to his ear. "Hello?"

"Uh, hi," replied a deep, hoarse voice. "Is Minato there?"

"He's in the shower. I can take a message, if you'd like."

"…Sure. Uh," there was a sigh on the other end, "tell him the room number is twelve thirty-one."

Naruto scrambled for a pen and grabbed a piece of paper, hoping it was not an important document and jotted down the number. "One, two… three, one. Okay, got it. I'll be sure to let him know."

"Thanks." The man on the other side paused for a while, and the blonde thought he'd hung up. "Is this Naruto?" he suddenly asked.

"Uh, yeah." Even though the other couldn't see him, the blonde scratched the back of his head nervously. It had just clicked that he was talking to Shikamaru's father.

"…What are you doing up?" His voice was gentle, and the teen could have sworn he was smiling. "Isn't it passed your bedtime?"

"Well, yeah, but I… uh, I couldn't sleep."

The man on the other end seemed to consider this. "Try to get some sleep tonight, Naruto. You'll need your strength."

A smile spread on the blonde's lips. "Thanks, Mister Nara. I'll try, but only if you do the same. I mean… I'm sure it's going to be a long day."

There was a long pause before a barely whispered, "Thank you, Naruto." Silence then reached his ear as the Nara hung up.

Slowly, Naruto took the phone from his ear and closed it. His eyes locked onto the paper he had written the numbers on and read them over and over, burning them into his memory.

That was the number to Shikamaru's hospital room. He was sure of it.

Why he was excited to have it, Naruto would have to ask his father. His heart gave an uncertain leap as the water in the bathroom stopped running.

'_Now or never…._'

Naruto couldn't concentrate at school the next day. Besides having the unnecessary amount of sleep, his father helped him come to a realization the night before that kept his focus on only one thing, or individual; Shikamaru Nara.

Before he knew it, the bell rang for lunch and the blonde found himself at his locker, putting his books away. His boyfriend, Sasuke Uchiha, interrupted his thoughts as he came up to him. The two didn't have the same morning classes but always ate lunch together.

"Hey, Naruto, did you hear?" Sasuke asked, his usual smug smirk on his lips.

The blonde gave him a glance, continuing to place his books into his locker, taking great care that they wouldn't fall out. "What?" he asked unenthusiastically.

"Shikamaru nearly killed himself last night; 'nearly' being the key word. I hope it works next time."

Naruto slammed his locker shut with more force than necessary. He glared at his boyfriend as the other raised an eyebrow at him. "Why do you hate him so much, Sasuke?" he nearly spat.

"Because he's a loser," Sasuke stated, as if it was obvious. "The guy was a hooker and a druggie for nearly a year. I have no respect for anyone like that."

The blonde huffed and walked away, heading for the courtyard, their usual route to the cafeteria.

"What's wrong with you today, Naruto?" the raven-haired teen asked, catching up.

"I'm starting to wonder what's wrong with _you_," Naruto said, anger beginning to boil deep in the pit of his stomach. "So Shikamaru made some bad choices, does that automatically make him a bad person?"

His boyfriend shook his head. "Man what is with you? You're acting like you _care_ about him."

"Maybe I do," the blonde replied, stepping out the door and into the sunlit courtyard of the school, "or _maybe_ I just think that everyone deserves a second chance, not matter how much they've screwed up in the past."

"Naruto, Shikamaru had a second chance and he blew it!" the Uchiha argued. "I don't get why you're defending that drug addicted whore."

The blonde whipped around, glaring daggers at his boyfriend. "Don't call him that!" he shouted. He sighed to calm his anger a bit, and then continued in a softer tone, "Don't lie to me, either. Even before he left, you never liked Shikamaru."

"Of course I didn't!" Sasuke snapped. "He was trying to steal _my_ boyfriend!"

Naruto's eyes widened. "What are you taking about, Sasuke?"

The other teen rolled his eyes. "Come on; don't tell me you never noticed?" At the blonde's vacant stare, he continued, "You can't tell me you didn't notice those smiles he gave you? I saw that look in his eyes, Naruto, and it looked like he wanted to eat you up. I wasn't just going to stand around and let someone else ogle the guy I was dating! And the way he touched you pissed me off even more!"

The blonde blinked. "Touched me?"

"Yeah. I'd see you two talking with other people and Shikamaru usually was using you for an armrest or a pillow, those times I caught you sleeping in the courtyard. He was making moves on you and I had a hell of a time putting a stop to it!"

Something clicked within Naruto's overloaded brain and his anger was starting to boil into fury. "You? Don't tell me you drove Shikamaru away from us!"

Sasuke shrugged. "I had a little help from Neji."

"What the hell does _Neji_ have to do with this?!"

The Uchiha glared. "Neji was feeling just as threatened by Nara when he started dating Kiba. We noticed we had the same problem and did something about it!"

Naruto looked shocked at him a moment, before being able to collect his thoughts. "You… you dumb ass!" His boyfriend's eyes widened a little, the blonde glaring at him again, his rage making his hands shake. "Did it ever occur to you that maybe Shikamaru turned to drugs because you scared him away from everything else!"

Sasuke scoffed. "Like I give a flying fuck about that druggie."

The blonde growled. He felt so angry and betrayed… and _stupid_ for not seeing this a lot sooner. He should have realized that it hadn't been long after he had started dating the Uchiha that he and Shikamaru had begun to grow distant. He cursed his ignorance and clenched his hands into fists. "I guess that settles it," Naruto said, causing a dark brow to rise on the other. "We're through, Sasuke!" He turned and began to storm away.

"I've heard that before," Sasuke called after him and the blonde whipped around, marching back up to the raven-haired teen.

"This time I mean it!" he spat, ignoring the many times in the past the two had fights, but always made up in the end.

The Uchiha smirked again, and it made the blonde's blood boil. "I'll give it a week. Then you'll come crawling back, just like you always do."

"I will not!"

"Well, where are you going to go?" the raven-haired teen mocked. "Going to go run into the arms of the druggie? He'd probably be good in bed, seeing as he is a whore."

There was a loud smack as Naruto's fist slammed into Sasuke's jaw.


	7. The Deer and the Fox

The Deer and the Fox

Shikamaru felt _miserable_.

Because of the counter drug that had been injected into him, Tsunade was hesitant to give him any morphine, fearing even worse conditions. His nerves lashed out in protest; the Nara's whole body ached and his stomach hurt. Breathing was a bit difficult and he could only take small, shallow breaths.

His mind wasn't much better off. He felt horrible. Guilt ran through his soul like a cold wind, freezing up his body and making it even more painful to move. Shikamaru hadn't meant to overdose. He didn't want to worry his parents like that and sure as hell didn't want to wake up in the hospital again.

Shikamaru, however, was _alive_.

His parents were crying over him when he had managed to open his eyes. It made his heart ache. He tried to speak but could not find his voice. It was locked away somewhere around that constant pressure residing in his throat and he wished he could unlock it.

"I'm sorry."

He desperately wanted to relay the message. He had been stupid. It had nearly cost Shikamaru his life. His heart began to fall into despair.

'_Why can't I do things right?_' he wondered.

Finally deciding it was best that his vocal chords refused to respond to his commands; the teen stopped trying to force it. He simply lied there on the stiff hospital bed, falling in and out of consciousness. His mind was in a daze. He figured the doctor had to have given him something, for the pain would be pushing him forcefully awake one moment, then vanishing and he was forced into the darkness of sleep the next.

As the day wore on, or it could have been days since Shikamaru's sense of time was severely lacking, the pain lessened. Finally, he opened his eyes on his own, the sharp biting of before had now dulled to an annoying throb in the back of his mind.

He had lied there for a long time, his parents trying to talk to him, but Shikamaru could only answer in small movements of his head. They were smiling at him nonetheless.

It was a little while later. His father was talking to him about something Shikamaru didn't have much interest in and thus didn't listen. What struck him as odd was when his father's dark eyes glanced to the door of his room and he suddenly went silent. The teen didn't have the energy to look for himself.

A small smile spread on his father's face and he glanced at his mother. "I think we should make some phone calls," he suddenly announced, grabbing a confused Yoshino and pulling her from her seat. "We'll be back in a bit, Shikamaru."

Shikamaru sighed as they walked through the door and stared at the wall across his vision. He was tired and silently vowed that he wouldn't allow this to happen again; his parents' tears would no longer be shed for his sake.

A minute or two passed before he saw some movement by the door and his dark eyes glanced in that direction a moment, resettling his gaze at the wall.

He doubled back, however, and his orbs grew slightly wide. "Naruto?" The word had pushed through that damned plug in his throat and came out more as a hoarse whisper.

The blonde teen slowly entered the room, almost shutting the door behind him. He gave the other a nervous smile and stood next to the bed. "Uh, hi, Shikamaru."

It took a bit of effort, but the prone young man lightly glared at the other. "What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice still that hoarse whisper; it seemed that's all his vocal chords would allow him at the time.

Blazingly blue eyes looked away and one hand reached up to rub at his neck. "Well, I… uh, I was worried about you."

Had Shikamaru been able, he would have snorted. "Last time I checked, you hated me." The dark haired teen remembered it quite well. A few months before he starting living with Deidara, he had a report due in his science class, the same one that Naruto was in. The blonde had just started dating the Uchiha at the time, and the Nara knew the emo teen wasn't happy that Shikamaru was hanging out with his boyfriend. He ignored the threats that had come his way and soon regretted it. The day after they turned in their essays on… well, Shikamaru couldn't remember the subject of it now, but their teacher, a stern, weirdly humored Kakashi Hatake had asked the Nara and Uzumaki to him after school. They went, neither knowing what it was about, and Kakashi dropped a bombshell on both of them.

It seemed that Shikamaru's paper was exactly the same as Naruto's. Besides the names on the titles, everything was the same and obvious it had been copied from the blonde's entry. The Nara denied doing such a thing, but Kakashi very calmly said that the smart teen seemed to be distracted lately and declared it was normal to want to copy another's work as a last minute result.

Again Shikamaru refused to take responsibility for it, their teacher simply stating that if he was going to do it in the future to copy from a more suitable companion. Kakashi had no choice but to give both of them zeros on their reports and demanded that they write another for half the credit on a completely different subject.

The Nara had been livid; he had worked for two agonizing months on that stupid paper! To add to that, the blonde had been fully convinced his friend had cheated and didn't talk to him after that. Shikamaru only received dirty looks from his former best friend and a cold shoulder.

Naruto shrugged. "That was over a year ago, Shikamaru. Even I can't hold a grudge for _that_ long. Besides, I thought about it a lot and," he gorgeously blue eyes looked at him once more, the smile spreading a bit, "I decided there was no way that you could have cheated off me. I knew that if you cheated, you would have done it without getting caught."

Shikamaru averted his gaze. "Thanks for noticing." The statement was dry and he somehow made it sound a little bitter, despite the fact it was huskily murmured.

A few moments of silence passed and a twinge of guilt tore at him painfully, though he pushed it down; he refused to feel anything like that for someone who deserved it, no matter how much he had once admired the person.

"Uh, how do you feel?" Naruto then asked. It came out more like a nervous squeak and the dark haired teen suppressed a sigh.

"Lousy." He looked at the beautiful blonde and tried to raise an eyebrow at him. "Won't your boyfriend be upset that you're here visiting me?"

The other teen shrugged again. "We broke up."

Dark eyes widened. He certainly hadn't been expecting _that_ answer. He could see the blue-eyed teen lying to the Uchiha about why he went to the hospital, like he was seeing some distant cousin or helping out his dad, but breaking up with him? "What happened? If memory serves correctly, you begged and pleaded me to help you hook up with the bastard. The day he asked you on a date…." He shook his head; a small smile appeared on his lips. "I had never seen your smile so big before in my life."

Naruto chuckled. "Oh, yeah, you did help me out with that." His eyes averted to a plant on the windowsill. "Well, I guess I was just into the hype of it all, ya know? Sasuke Uchiha, untouchable and unreachable by any girl that reached for him, yet I would always catch him looking at me. At first, it was kinda fun, even if Sakura and Ino didn't talk to me for several weeks." He gazed back at the dark haired teen. "But time has a way of opening people's eyes, I guess. I found out Sasuke can be a real dip shit."

"…What happened?" he asked again, clearing his throat a little, his voice slightly stronger. "I didn't think you'd give anything up for the 'man of your dreams.'"

A small touch of pink rose on tanned, whiskered cheeks, blue eyes looking away again. "…Sasuke… said something bad about you… so I punched him."

If Shikamaru had the strength, he would have laughed. Instead, he merely smiled. "You _punched_ him?"

Naruto grinned sheepishly. "Yeah. Got suspended for three days because of it."

The Nara rolled his eyes. "Lucky bastard, I got a week. When did this happen?"

The blonde chuckled. "Well, I wasn't able to wipe the floor with the bastard, like you were with Kiba. Kakashi and Iruka got in and separated us before any real damage happened. Yesterday."

'_Wow,_' he thought. '_That's fairly recent._' He gazed at the wall for a moment, absorbing something else the Uzumaki had said. "You… _defended_ me?" he asked slowly.

Naruto nodded.

His dark eyes looked at him with some confusion. "Why?"

The other smiled again. "Because I care about you. I'm not gonna let some too-hot-to-trot bastard call you a whore in front of me."

Shikamaru lightly sighed. "It's only the truth, Naruto."

He shook his head; bright blonde locks dancing around wildly. "No, it _was_ the truth, Shikamaru." He walked up to him, grabbing the hand that didn't have the I.V. stuck in the arm nor the heart monitor on the finger and sat down on the bed. The blonde held the Nara's hand tenderly in both of his own, his smile quickly turning into a frown. "Man you're freezing." He gently started rubbing cool skin against his warm flesh.

Shikamaru swallowed hard, causing him to slightly flinch, as his body did not appreciate the action. His heart began to speed up at the touch and he glared at the monitor beside him, the ever-monotone beeps speeding up right along with it.

Naruto noticed and turned to the machine, grinning widely at the dark haired teen. "What's wrong, Shikamaru?"

"Nothing," he replied, closing his eyes and trying to focus on keeping the blush from his cheeks.

"Doesn't sound like nothing. Your heart is pounding!"

The Nara refused to reply, settling with a twitch in his eyebrow for annoyance. He felt the weight of the bed shift slightly and a small dip on his other side.

"I think," Naruto whispered; he was so close Shikamaru could feel hot breath ghost over his skin, "that I make you nervous."

The dark haired teen slowly opened his eyes, only to be swallowed up by sparkling orbs of sapphire. As if agreeing with the blonde, the monitor began beeping even faster, matching his growing heart rate. He paid it no mind, too lost in that gaze to focus on anything but the young man hovering over him. The heat from his body radiated around them and the Nara almost shivered.

Naruto smiled a little before eliminating the space separating the two. He was gentle, _very_ gentle. His lips lightly caressed the Nara's and a soft moan rumbled in his throat. That's all the farther it went. Lips on lips, softy stroking in a very… _loving_ kind of way. There was no pressing harder, no tongue being forced down his throat, no teeth nibbling at his mouth, not even hands tangled painfully in his hair.

Shikamaru had never been kissed like that before. It was very different. Comforting. He liked it.

He liked it _a lot_.

All too soon, the blonde leaned back a little and looked down at the Nara, who felt his cheeks burn and he couldn't get enough oxygen into his already stressed lungs, the monitor going crazy with beeps.

Naruto cocked his head a little, raising a golden eyebrow. "Or is that excitement?"

Shikamaru smiled. "Both."

The blonde chuckled and captured another kiss before sitting up and standing from the bed. The dark haired teen gave a little whine at the loss of heat and reached out to the other, giving him a desperate look when he turned back to him.

The Uzumaki blushed a little, slightly darkening his tanned skin. "Shikamaru, don't look at me like that. You look like a frightened fawn."

The Nara glared at being called a baby deer, but it quickly faded. "Will you visit me again?" he asked, tentatively.

Naruto smiled from ear to ear. "Of course, silly! As long as you promise to pull through this."

A smile crawled onto his lips as well. "I promise, Naruto."

"And no more icky drugs!" he said seriously, although shaking his finger at the dark haired teen like a mother scolds her child kind of dropped the sternness.

"Never again." Shikamaru meant it. He was surprised he hadn't overdosed in the past, but owed that up to having people around to watch him. Who knows, he could have come close before, but couldn't remember.

"Good!" Naruto walked to the door, waving happily. "See ya later, Shikamaru!"

"Bye." He watched as the blonde damn near sashayed out of the room, lightly shaking his behind before he disappeared into the hall. "Sexy little vixen."

A few minutes after he left, Shikamaru slowly brought his hand to his lips, touching the soft skin. He could still feel the blonde's mouth on his and the flesh burned beneath his fingers. The memory of how the kiss felt ran through his mind and the heart monitor sped up once again.


	8. Babysitting

Babysitting

"…I don't _need_ a babysitter, you know," Shikamaru stated, glaring at the blonde teen walking around the kitchen.

"Well, you've got one anyway!" Naruto responded, smiling brightly at him.

The dark haired teen sighed heavily. His parents had just left for a long deserved romantic weekend that their son insisted they take. It had been three months since he almost overdosed and he had just gotten off his two-month long house arrest. He was being privately tutored at Minato Namikaze's school and had even made a few… _acquaintances_ over the passed several weeks. Things were going very well.

Shikamaru had been surprised and upset that his parents had hired someone to watch after him for the weekend, but was very glad it was Uzumaki who had showed up for the job. Because they went to different schools and he had been cooped up in the hospital, rehab, and then his house, the Nara hadn't been able to see much of the perky blonde.

Now they had that night and two days to catch up. He was very glad of that.

However, Naruto was taking this whole "babysitting" thing a little too seriously for Shikamaru's taste.

He was shaken out of his thoughts as a plate of macaroni and cheese was placed before him. The blonde sat next to him and they ate together in silence.

The Nara found himself distracted the entire time. Was it just the lighting in the room, or did Naruto's hair look even brighter? The soft, golden locks shimmered as if they had been plucked from the sun itself and placed carefully on the teen. His tanned skin seemed even more so, almost begging him to reach across the small distance separating them and run his unworthy hands over the god like flesh. Those sapphire eyes sparkled and shined and he found himself lost, feeling like he was staring into the sky of the most perfect day. Even without clouds, the dazzling blue was amazing to gaze at.

"You all right, Shikamaru?" Naruto asked.

The dark haired teen blinked, feeling his face burn as he turned his attention to his half eaten dinner. Clearing his throat, he replied, "Uh, yeah I'm fine, Naruto."

"Not hungry?"

At the thought of finishing the meal, the butterflies whirled madly within his stomach, definitely telling him there was no more room for anything else.

He shook his head. "Guess not." '_Why am I so nervous?_' he wondered as the blonde took his plate up to the sink.

His eyes followed one tanned hand as it reached into his back pocket and brought out a piece of paper. Shikaku had given it to him, something about it being a list for Naruto to follow, to Shikamaru's annoyance.

"All right," the other announced, putting the sheet back. "Time for homework!"

The Nara rolled his eyes but obeyed, going up to his room and grabbing his backpack. He was glad when he returned that the blonde had already begun his work. This time there would be no way the two could copy from each other, either.

It took Shikamaru longer than it should have, with the Uzumaki looking so perfect next to him, but he was able to finish. It probably wasn't nearly as good as he could have done it, and he knew he'd have to explain to his tutor why his work had been done half assed.

After they put their books away, the Nara's "babysitter" told him that the schedule said they could watch television until bedtime. He didn't even want to know when that was so didn't ask. They sat on the couch but the dark haired teen once again found his focus on the one next to him.

He could feel the heat radiating off Naruto, just like at the hospital. This time he did shiver. Shikamaru wondered if that body would always be welcome, even if it were the hottest day of the year. '_Probably,_' he decided. He suddenly felt so cold and crossed his arms, shoving his hands in his armpits. His fingers refused to warm, however, and only managed to chase away more of his own body heat.

"Are you cold, Shikamaru?" the blonde asked, a little chuckle in his voice as brilliantly blue eyes looked at the almost shivering Nara.

A small scowl touched his features in irritation at his body's refusal to heat up and slightly nodded.

Naruto grabbed the blanket folded neatly on the back of the couch and shook it open. Shikamaru nearly had a heart attack as not only the deep red blanket was thrown over him but two strong arms as well. The blonde held him close to his torso beneath the cloth, eyes focusing back on the television.

The Nara wasn't cold anymore. How he could go from freezing to burning up in a matter of seconds was completely beyond him. His heart raced, almost trying to brake free of its prison within his chest, his cheeks felt as if they were on fire, and his dark eyes were wide. He swallowed hard in nervousness, the over excited butterflies fluttering madly, looking for an escape.

His heart nearly stuttered to a stop as Naruto leaned to lie back on the couch, taking the flustered teen with him. Now he was lying on the blonde's chest and he could hear the steady beats of the organ keeping the teen alive. Shikamaru wondered how he could keep so calm.

Still, the body beneath him was warm and comforting and he soon relaxed against the other. He felt himself start to nod off, the never changing "lub-dubs" nearly lulling him into a peaceful slumber.

"Hey, Shikamaru," Naruto suddenly said, the sound rumbling his chest, lightly knocking the dark haired teen a little further away from sleep.

"Hmm?" he mumbled.

The other giggled, causing a smile to spread on the Nara's lips; it was quite an amusing sound while having an ear pressed against his torso. "Come on, get up, it's time for bed."

His face quickly contorted into a scowl. "Already?" He opened his sleepy eyes to look at the clock under the television to see it was almost ten. Shikamaru had fallen asleep, but his glare deepened. "It's still early, Naruto."

"The list your dad gave me said, 'Bedtime, Ten O'clock!'"

Shikamaru grumbled incoherently as he reluctantly stood, instantly regretting having to leave the warmth. A violent shudder ran up his spine and he wrapped his arms around him again.

Naruto gave the dark haired teen a bright smile, turned off the television and stood, leading the way up the stairs. The Nara entered his bedroom, surprised that the blonde followed him, that smile still on his face. He raised a dark eyebrow at him in curiosity.

"I'll help you get ready for bed!" the blonde announced, causing dark eyes to widen. "First, since you're cold, I think you could use a bath!"

Before Shikamaru could argue, Naruto dashed into the bathroom and could soon hear the rush of water as he turned the faucet on. He sighed in defeat and went to his dresser, grabbing a pair of pajamas and throwing them on the bed.

Tanned arms suddenly wrapped around his waist and the warmth the Nara lost was pressed firmly against his back. Hot breath tickled his neck and moved up to his ear.

"Would you like me to help you, Shikamaru?" Naruto whispered, giving his earlobe an experimental lick.

A small sound left his lips, his body leaning back against the blonde, tilting his head away to give the other more access. His heart had sped up again, but he ignored it, as he whispered, "Yes." His mind didn't even need to think it over. The golden Adonis Shikamaru had wanted to touch since he'd been a child was now touching him and the blood being pumped fast through his veins was being forced south on his body.

The blonde gently kissed the flesh, which had been kindly exposed for him. His hands ran over the white shirt the Nara wore, knowing the skin beneath would be even softer. He was acting completely on impulse. From the conversation Naruto had with his father way back, he discovered that he had very strong feelings for the teen, although he wasn't sure where they came from.

He found himself thinking about the Nara more and more. For at least half of the passed three months, not a night would go by where he wouldn't have a dream including a very naked Shikamaru Nara. Naruto began wondering if his dreams could live up to the real thing and was grateful to finally have the chance to find out.

The blonde softly bit down on the darkened skin under his lips and wound up having to tighten his hold on the dark haired teen, as his knees buckled.

He lightly laughed, taking his face away from the other's neck and turned him to look into those dark eyes. They were half lidded, great waves of lust already swirling to life within them. Naruto's smile widened. "Here, this'll make things easier," he said, gently pushing Shikamaru against the wall.

The blonde pressed his body flush against the other, moaning as he felt something hard rub against his inner thigh. His own manhood was also stirring to life, and he moved his hips to compress long the Nara's arousal, causing delicious friction. He released another moan, grinding their hips together and breathing heavily in the other's ear.

"We need to get these clothes off you," he whispered, planting small kisses along Shikamaru's jaw line. A small tremor of excitement ran down his back and settled into his full erection as the pinned teen moaned, thrusting his hips to meet him.

Naruto smiled and placed his lips on the Nara's slightly parted ones. Cool hands lightly held onto his waist and he decided to let his own hands be his eyes. The blonde reached down and barely touched the flesh, slowly running his fingers up long arms, over slender shoulders and carefully grabbed the collar of the shirt. He felt the first two buttons had already been undone and he moved his hands down to undo the next, his lips not leaving their position on Shikamaru's mouth.

His fingers moved slowly until every button was no longer attached to the other side of the fabric and he pulled his mouth away. The Nara began gasping for breath the minute they lost physical contact and the blonde smirked, averting his gaze to the unbuttoned shirt still covering naturally tanned skin.

Their hips still moved against each other in a very relaxed fashion as Naruto began pulling the white fabric over perfect shoulders, exposing the torso that couldn't live up to the dreams. This young man's body was so much more exquisite in person.

Shikamaru lowered his hands to the blonde's hips, fingers tentatively feeling the hem of the tee shirt, wanting to explore the skin just beneath. His school shirt pooled at his elbows making him a little uncomfortable but he ignored it; the pleasure he was receiving now was blocking everything else around him.

He moaned, tilting his head back against the wall as a very warm hand began touching his skin. It ran across his chest, playing with both nipples a little, before slowly moving to his abdomen. The Nara moaned again, thrusting a little harder against the blonde, sparks of blinding pleasure tingling over his every nerve.

The blonde's hand ghosted over his sides and swirled around his navel, Shikamaru arching away from the wall, a small cry leaving his lips at the touch.

Naruto saw his opportunity and leaned in, capturing a pebbled nipple into his mouth, sucking and lightly nibbling.

Another cry left the other teen's lips and he wrapped his arms around the blonde's shoulders, his hips speeding up. He was close to reaching that sweet oblivion he hadn't touched in such a long time. A coil of heat curled tighter and tighter just above his groin and he gasped for much needed oxygen.

A warm hand touched his back, keeping Shikamaru away from the wall as Naruto's mouth left his chest and began showering kisses over his neck and shoulder.

"Ah," the Nara breathed, as teeth brushed gently against his oversensitive flesh. His hips still moved on their own, trying desperately to find release. The pressure within was almost becoming painful and he thrust harder, panting in the blonde's ear.

Shikamaru's dark eyes widened as Naruto bit down on his shoulder and he cried out, body going rigid and his vision blacked out as wave after wave of immense pleasure flowed through him, reaching every nerve from the tips of his toes to the very end of his locks of dark hair. After a few minutes, he opened his eyes, not remembering when he had closed them and found the most beautiful cerulean looking back at him.

Naruto raised a curious golden eyebrow and smirked at the teen, who was still basking in the afterglow. "Wow, Shikamaru, am I really that good? I didn't think I'd make you cum by just doing _that_!"

The Nara smiled softly, trying to get his breathing under control. "What… did you expect?" he said between gasps. "I… haven't had any for a… few months… and then to have _you_… of all people touching me…." He swallowed thickly and chuckled. "I've been dreaming about you for so long… I couldn't hold back."

The blonde smiled widely, a light blush on his cheeks. "I think it's time for your bath now, Shikamaru."

The dark haired teen nodded, his face contorting into a form of discomfort. "Yeah, I can fill the stuff running down my thighs."

Blue eyes widened a moment before lids came down to half-mast and he moaned low in his throat, grabbing another kiss and gently rubbing his hips against the other.

Shikamaru chuckled when the blonde broke away and grabbed his wrist, pulling him to the bathroom, where the tub was full of steaming water and bubbles.

A smirk touched his shaded features as he watched the two vanish from his sight through the window. He carefully crawled from the tree and made his way onto the sidewalk. He walked down the street and headed for the rendezvous point where he would get picked up.

The information he now carried would be excellent news and worth more than was originally agreed upon, he was sure. Everything was fitting into place nicely and soon things would be as they were before.

His smirk widened into a rare smile and he began jogging down the pavement. This weekend would prove to be very interesting….


	9. Make A Move

**Make A Move**

The clouds came into the area without warning, as they did sometimes, creeping from the horizon and slowly covering the city in a dreary gray color. Rain soon followed. It never poured as in a thunderstorm, but merely fell from the sky as tears would fall from an upset child. No one could ever predict these little rainy periods as they showed up, nor could anybody say when it would end.

That was the way he liked it.

The man was standing at the huge windows to his office, staring out into the dismal weather with a scowl on his sharp features. When rain came down like this, it usually held a bad omen for him. He never looked down to the streets below to see the people scurrying around, trying to find shelter. No, those insects were far below his interests and he merely watched the droplets of water as they fell from the gray sky.

"I have found him," a voice he recognized said suddenly.

His stern eyes looked over his shoulder at the dark haired man sitting on the couch. He was as stoic as always, face devoid of any real emotion and half hidden behind locks of raven colored hair.

He turned his gaze back out the window, taking his time with replying. There was a shuffle of clothing and he soon heard the flick of a lighter. The man sighed in annoyance. "You know that I dislike the smell of cigarettes, Itachi," he finally spoke, voice dark and full of irritation. He turned to glare at him.

Itachi met his gaze and slowly brought the tobacco to his lips, clearly defying his boss as he took a drag and released the smoke in a long white stream from the corner of his mouth. "I know," he stated in his monotone fashion that always annoyed the man standing at the window, "but if you're going to just stand there after summoning me all the way here, I need to do something to keep myself occupied, and I doubt you'd like the smell of the… _alternative_ in your office." He placed the cigarette on his lips again, eyes never leaving that of his boss.

The secret leader of the Akatsuki glared at one of his most trusted subordinates a moment more before shaking his head. His eyes focused on the paperwork lying on his desk and he glanced back to Itachi. "Are you sure you found the right one?"

The raven-haired man let a small smirk escape from his lips, taking another drag. "Quite sure." He released the smoke from his lungs and his smirk disappeared, eyes darkening even more in curiosity. "I do wonder, though. Why are you so adamant to have him back, Pain?"

The leader raised a thin eyebrow at his talented employee. "Because he was the best." He sat at his desk and began flipping through several papers. "I was severely disappointed when Deidara's operation got taken apart. He always spoke highly of that boy. Our customers want him back."

Itachi nodded, inhaling more of the tobacco. "A lot of my clientele were asking for him when Deidara folded."

Pain looked up at him. "Did you not have him for a time?"

The raven-haired man closed his eyes. "I did. However, I thought it would be too risky to place him back into the prostitution ring so soon after being found with our imprisoned comrade." He opened his dark eyes and gazed at his boss, taking another drag. "He seemed to have an _attachment_ with another of my entertainers. It turned out that the two of them together brought in a very interested crowd."

"Ah yes," the leader replied. "You made him into a pornography star."

"If I remember correctly, those movies brought in quite a bit of profit."

"They did," Pain agreed, a scowl touching his face as he took a document from the pile on his desk, "however, our organization has slowly been losing money since you lost him."

Itachi merely gave his leader a vacant stare as he inhaled the last of the nicotine and put the butt out in a clean ashtray beside the couch on a table.

Pain glared; that had been a gift to him from one of his very important business partners and was for show, not use. "It appears," he continued, holding his irritation back, "that the majority of our customers want Deidara's brat. You knew this, Itachi, why didn't you hold him?"

The raven-haired man looked away for a moment, considering the question carefully. "It had been over a month after he started working for me," he explained, neither his voice or eyes holding any emotion as he looked at the Akatsuki leader. "I decided that maybe he could start working the prostitution ring again. Those movies that were made served a double purpose; we could make a little extra money and I could make sure he hadn't forgotten how the business worked. There was a slight problem, though."

An eyebrow twitched above Pain's eye; some of the things this man did grated on his nerves heavily. "And what was that?"

Itachi leaned a little further back into the soft seat. "It seems that my entertainer and Deidara's had gotten quite… close during that time. I knew there would have been conflict if I separated them."

"I hope you followed protocol, Itachi," the leader warned before the other could go any further. "You know how tricky this business can be."

The man on the couch waved a hand at him. "Don't worry, Pain, I knew back then who was the more important of the two."

Pain raised a thin brow. "You took care of it," he stated, watching the man nod unemotionally. "Things didn't go according to plan, though."

Itachi sighed, reaching for another cigarette. "No, they didn't. Unfortunately, I don't think Deidara kept his entertainers open to the fact that drug overdoses are very common in this business. As soon as he heard what happened to his movie partner, the dumb ass nearly overdosed himself."

The Akatsuki leader leaned back in his chair, thinking this new information over, watching the unpleasant smoke from the cigarette curl delicately into the air.

Several minutes passed in silence, the only noise being the very soft clatter from the ever-present rain outside.

"You trust this source of yours, the one who got the information of where he is?" he finally asked, realizing that it was now or never.

"To a point," was Itachi's quick reply, taking a final drag of his smoke and putting out in the ashtray.

This time Pain ignored it, an evil smirk appearing on his thin lips. "Very well. Bring him to me, then. Use whatever methods you see fit to get him here, just remember, Itachi, that the Pleaser is very valuable and will bring the Akatsuki a lot of money. Do as little damage to him as possible."

The raven-haired man stood. "It will be done before the weekend is over, I assure you." He turned and casually walked out of the office.

Pain swiveled around in his chair; smirk growing into a smile as he gazed out the window. Things might be turning out for the better after all.

The rain had stopped.

Shikamaru was used to routine sex, a simple one, two, three process. That's what he'd been taught and that's what he went by.

Naruto, however, was anything but routine. His moves were erratic, his touches on impulse and his lips ever present on the Nara's own, as if they could never get enough. It was a very new experience to him, for every action the blonde made was with the intention that Shikamaru would be the one who felt pleasure. Before it had been the other way around; the dark haired teen never expected any satisfaction in return and was only required to give.

He liked the change.

Shikamaru cuddled closer to the naked blonde lying next to him, his dark eyes trailing over his lover's tan skin and gorgeous golden locks. He brought a hand up and began running his fingers over the soft flesh of the still slumbering Naruto. He caressed a scarred cheek and trailed down his neck and over his chest.

The blonde moaned when he pinched a nipple gently and the Nara smirked. His hand roamed further down, rubbing against tight abs and circling the navel before reaching between his lover's legs.

Shikamaru gasped as his fingers curled around already hardened flesh, so hot he could've sworn it just burned his hand. Slowly he began stroking the sensitive organ, pleased when the blonde moaned again in his sleep and started thrusting his hips.

Naruto's head leaned closer to the Nara's, groaning and mumbling at the pleasure. "Mmmm…. Shika… maru…."

That's all he really wanted to hear. The dark haired teen kissed the blonde hard, pushing his tongue passed soft lips to play with the other, moaning softly when his straining erection brushed up against a very warm thigh.

Naruto wrapped his arms around the Nara and rolled onto his back, his hips not once losing the rhythm that had been set.

Shikamaru broke the kiss and looked down into beautiful blue eyes. He found them to be the most amazing orbs in all of nature. As he stared down at them, the dark clouds of sleep that made his eyes look like the deepest blue sea cleared away as new clouds of color came in their wake. These were lighter and reflected love and need, causing his eyes to take on almost an aquamarine hue.

"Don't get me all worked up only to stare at me," Naruto whispered, smiling brightly, thrusting into the hand still holding onto his stiff manhood.

The Nara smirked. "I was making sure you were awake." He leaned down and kissed the beautiful creature beneath him, reaching over and blindly grabbing the forgotten tube of lubricating gel from the nightstand. He sat up and was about to grab his lover's hand when an idea struck him.

An evil smirk crossed his lips as he gazed down at the blonde.

Naruto raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "What's with that look, Shikamaru?"

"I want to show you something, Naruto," he whispered sexily. Pouring some of the cool liquid on his fingers, Shikamaru turned himself around and raised his butt in the air on all fours. Slowly, his lubed digits reached behind him and swirled around his entrance. He carefully pushed one finger passed the tight ring of muscle and moaned, thrusting his hips back against his hand.

The Nara knew the blonde was watching and it made him even more turned on as he entered another digit. He began scissoring them inside his warm flesh and felt a hand come to rest on his thigh.

"Does it… feel good, Shikamaru?" Naruto asked a little breathlessly.

"Yeeessss," he moaned, thrusting his fingers a little harder. A small cry left his lips as his fingers brushed up against his prostate. "Ah! Right there!" he mumbled to himself, having forgotten how erotic it could be to touch himself in front of others.

Shikamaru gasped as something hot and wet started circling his entrance and looked over his shoulder to see a mass of blonde hair right behind him. He moaned loudly at the sight and dropped his head to the sheets, his fingers losing their rhythm when Naruto's tongue tried to accompany them. "Ah, god! Naruto!" His legs gave out and he fell to the bed, his fingers still thrusting into his flesh.

The Nara looked up at the smirking blonde. He whined and removed his hand from his entrance, grasping his erection and pumping it frantically. He repositioned himself so he was lying on his back in front of the blonde and spread his legs wide. "Take me Naruto," he begged, although this was no act. "Please, I need you—" He wasn't able to finish the sentence as lips pressed firmly against his own.

"You don't have to beg for me," the blonde stated, positioning himself at the dark haired teen's entrance. "I'll happily give you what you ask for." In one smooth thrust, Naruto buried himself to the hilt within him.

Shikamaru cried out in absolute bliss, wrapping his arms around the blonde's neck and arching his back sharply. He loved having that erection shoved so deep inside him he feels like he might burst. The Nara had never had that kind of feeling before and he found it wonderful.

Naruto began slowly pulling out of the teen beneath him and thrusting back in, his pace leisurely.

Shikamaru moaned out in frustration, trying to raise his hips at a quicker speed. "Please, Naruto! Faster!"

True to his word, the blonde braced himself and quickened his pace, panting in his lover's ear while the other cried out to the small room.

The Nara was about to go insane. He wasn't sure how, but Naruto was hitting his prostate with every thrust and it was driving him mad with the need to release. The hot coil in his abdomen was tightened even more so than he thought possible and he reached between them to grab his neglected erection. Pumping it fiercely, he groaned, back arching almost painfully from the bed. The tightened coil was almost ready to snap, he could feel it and the pace on his weeping manhood quickened.

"Oh, god, Naruto… I'm… gonna cum…." He released a loud cry, hand tightening on his hard flesh as spurts of white seed shot from it to land on their chests and stomachs.

Naruto moaned as he watched his lover come, then grabbed his legs and lifted them up, pounding into the dark haired teen as he tried to find release. He was surprised when the other stopped his movements and pulled away from the blonde.

He was confused, but it was fleeting as a hand already sticky from his own cum wrapped around the blonde's erection and Shikamaru looked up at him from the bed, lying on his stomach in front of his lover.

"Cum for me, Naruto," he whispered hotly, before taking the hot flesh clutched in his hand into his mouth.

Naruto groaned as an expert tongue, lips and teeth ran the entire length of his erection. He had been close to begin with, but the way the Nara looked with his manhood vanishing into that hot mouth was enough to push the blonde over the edge.

Shikamaru felt the organ pulse before thick streams of hot cum began shooting down his throat and he swallowed every last drop. He even sucked a little harder, making sure he had savored all the blonde had to offer.

Releasing the softening flesh from his mouth, the Nara raised to his knees, gazing amusedly at the blonde gasping for breath.

"Shit, Shikamaru," Naruto whispered, voice hoarse, "that was hot!"

He smiled. "That's the good thing about me having been a wh- I mean, an _entertainer_, I know all kinds of hot tricks."

The blonde chuckled. "I hope I get to see more of them."

Shikamaru leaned in and kissed him. "If you're a good boy."

Before Naruto could respond, the doorbell rang and they both cursed.

The Nara sighed and got up from the bed, pulling on some pants and Naruto's shirt from the night before.

"If it's my dad, tell him I'll be down in a minute," the blonde said, taking his time in getting out of the bed.

Shikamaru nodded and left the room, quickly darting down the stairs as the bell rang again. "Coming!" he shouted as he approached the door. The Nara unlocked the deadbolt and turned the knob, opening the door and the mid afternoon air flowed into the room.

His eyes widened as he gazed upon someone he thought he'd never see again.

"Hello, Shikamaru, it's been quite a while," Itachi said, giving the shocked teen a small smirk.

He blinked and lightly shook his head to clear it, giving the raven-haired man an angry glare. "What the hell are you doing here, Itachi," he hissed.

Itachi's smirk widened as he stepped up to the scowling young man. Without warning, he pushed the teen inside the house, kicking the door shut with his heel and pinned the Nara against a wall with his wrists held tightly above his head.

Shikamaru merely continued to glare and it amused the older man to no end as he leaned down to whisper against his lips, "I'm here for you." He then crushed their lips together and shoved his tongue down the shocked teenager's throat.


	10. Admitting Defeat, Part 1

Admitting Defeat, Part 1

Naruto casually walked down the stairs, hoping his dad would want to take them out to supper, when his eyes looked toward the front door. Blue orbs widened as he saw Shikamaru pinned to the wall with a dark haired man pressed up against him, their lips locked together in a bruising kiss. The blonde was at a loss for words as he watched, shocked, for a moment. It wasn't until he saw the Nara bite down on the other man's bottom lip hard enough to draw blood that knocked him out of his stupor.

Growling, the Uzumaki skipped the last of the stairs and grabbed the dark haired man's shoulder, roughly pushing him away from his lover.

The man smirked, bringing a hand up to wipe away the blood from his chin.

Naruto turned to Shikamaru, who was panting and spitting crimson fluid from his mouth. "Are you all right, Shikamaru?" he asked, keeping a wary eye on the other man standing just a few feet away.

"I hope so," the Nara whispered, stepping away from the wall to stand in front of the blonde. "Why are you really here, Itachi?"

The dark haired man chuckled. "Is it so hard to believe that I'm here to fetch you?"

Shikamaru glared daggers, silently threatening this man he once knew to stay away from him. "I don't work for you anymore. It's been three months; don't you think that if I wanted to return to that empty life I would have by now?"

"Empty? If I'm not mistaken, wasn't it this life you're living now what you thought to be 'empty?'"

The Nara closed his eyes and sighed, reaching behind him to grab Naruto's hand and pulled him forward gently to stand beside him. He open dark, determined orbs and looked confidently at Itachi. "That was then, _before_…. Before I almost made a mistake that would have cost me my life. I now realize what I want and that there are people who really care about me. I don't want that life anymore, Itachi. Please leave me be."

The raven-haired man raised a dark eyebrow at the teen. "Sorry, kid," he said smoothly, "but you don't really get a say in this." As soon as the words left his lips, the door burst open and two teenage boys walked into the house.

Shikamaru recognized both of them as entertainers who worked for the dark haired man standing before him. The red haired teen, named Gaara, and a slightly taller brunette, called Kankuro, came to stand behind the Nara and his lover. Their faces were emotionless and they crossed their arms in unison, reminding him for a brief moment that the two were brothers. He couldn't remember how he'd found out about that; anything about the "other" life was strictly forbidden to speak of. Secrecy had been the name of the game.

'_Hold on,_' Shikamaru's mind finally clicked. He turned his glare from the brothers to Itachi again, growing tired of his smug smirk. "How the hell did you find out where I live?"

The oldest of them lightly sighed, closing his eyes. "It was not easy. Do you know how many 'Nara's there are in the phonebook?"

"Cut the bull shit, Itachi! Did…" his eyes averted to the floor, voice softening, "did Sai tell you?" He heard a chuckle and raised his orbs again.

"No," Itachi stated simply, "that little fucker refused to give any secrets about you, not even at the end."

Shikamaru's dark eyes widened at the statement. He took a few deep breaths and released Naruto's hand, clutching it into a fist. "You… were there?" he growled.

"Of course. Who do you think it was who got Sai the drugs?"

The Nara gritted his teeth. This man was responsible. The pale teen he had grown to like had been taken away from him on purpose! He glared dangerously at the raven-haired man. "Murderer!!" he screamed, leaping toward him with a fist raised.

Before Shikamaru's feet left the ground, Kankuro held him in a strong grip with his arms held tightly behind his back.

Naruto yelped in surprise as Gaara held him in a similar pose.

"Leave him alone!" the Nara shouted, trying desperately to get the slightly older teen to release him. "Naruto has nothing to do with this!"

"On the contrary," a new voice said from the doorway, "Naruto has a lot to do with this situation."

Shikamaru's gaze whipped to the door; shock once again exposed on his features as he watched one very smug Sasuke Uchiha casually enter the house.

"Sasuke?!" Naruto squeaked; stopping the small battle he was having with the red haired teen he didn't know. His blue eyes widened as his ex-boyfriend walked up to him, his smirk the same as the older man in the room. In fact, Naruto suddenly realized that the two looked an awful lot alike….

"I _told_ you, Naruto," the Uchiha teen said, crossing his arms, "all whores are good for is sex, and it can get them into a world of trouble."

"You told Itachi where I live, bastard?!" Shikamaru shouted, still trying to lightly break free of Kankuro's grasp.

Sasuke didn't even turn to the Nara. "That's right, whore. It was easy enough, especially since I knew _you_ were coming over to… baby sit," he responded, pointing at the blonde. "I just followed you from school, Naruto."

The Uzumaki glared hotly at his ex. "Why?" he asked in a low growl. "Why would you do this, damn it!?"

The raven-haired teen gave the other a curious gaze. "Because nobody, and I mean _nobody_, breaks up with Sasuke Uchiha. Itachi asked me about the little whore over there and I decided to help him so you could see what kind of situations drug addicted prostitutes can get themselves into." He leaned in close to the blonde, his lips barely touching the other's. "I did this for _you_," he whispered, "to give you a second chance, Naruto Uzumaki. Dump this low-life, two cent slut _now_ and be mine once more."

Shikamaru chuckled, gaining a glare from Sasuke. "From what I can see," he said, a smirk pulling at his lips, "this 'low-life, two cent slut' is a step up from what Naruto did have."

The Uchiha teen fumed, hands clutching tightly into fists and he stormed over to the Nara, slamming his knuckles into a cheekbone. "Shut your filthy, unworthy mouth, whore!"

He continued to smirk. "Sorry, but you aren't _this_ whore's pimp."

Sasuke hit him again in the jaw then the nose, pleased when blood splattered across his knuckles. He grabbed the Nara's shirt and raised him so they were nose to nose, Kankuro still holding tightly onto his arms.

"I won't allow a cheap, butt ugly slut make cracks at me, understand?" he spat.

Despite his jaw aching and blood dripping from his left nostril, Shikamaru smiled and looked into the Uchiha teen's dark eyes. "If I'm so cheap and ugly, why would Itachi want me? You know, Sasuke, you really shouldn't judge people before you know them." As soon as the last word left his mouth, Shikamaru crushed his lips onto Sasuke's, ignoring the blood leaking onto his tongue as he plunged passed the shocked teen's parted lips.

Shikamaru went to work, using all his experience to delve the warm and wet cavern fully, his ego getting a large boost as the Uchiha teen began kissing back. He dominated the raven-hair's tongue and lightly nipped at his lips as he slowly pulled away, granting him a small sound that he recognized as pleasure.

"See, Sasuke," he whispered, licking up the trail of blood smeared above his lips and down his chin, "I'm worth a lot more than _you_ can afford."

Sasuke glared when the Nara moved away from his face and Shikamaru gave him a look of superiority. It only served to piss him off more and he punched the bleeding teen again in the face and once more in the stomach.

"Stop it, Sasuke!" Naruto cried, Gaara having a firm hold on him. "He can't even defend himself! Please!"

The Uchiha teen didn't look at the blonde as he landed another hit to Shikamaru's abdomen.

Tears fell from big, blue eyes, his heart breaking with every punch. He knew how hard the raven-haired teen could hit from experience, and he'd finally had enough. "All right, Sasuke! I'll do it!"

Sasuke stopped mid punch and looked over at the crying blonde. He walked away from the Nara, who was doubled over, coughing and had a large cut on his lip.

"You'll do what, Naruto?" the Uchiha teen asked, standing before the blonde.

"No, Naruto!" Shikamaru wheezed, trying to see straight. He had the feeling one of his eyes was going to be black tomorrow.

Naruto sniffed and blinked back more tears from hearing his lover sound broken. "I… I'll leave Shikamaru… and date you."

Sasuke smirked again, but his victory was cut short as Itachi walked up behind him.

"Sorry, Sasuke, but Naruto can't do that," he stated, amusement flashing in his otherwise emotionless orbs.

Dark eyes whipped to the slightly taller man, glaring angrily. "Why the hell not?" he hissed. "You told me I could—"

"My _orders_ are much more important than your _needs_, little brother," Itachi interrupted, voice cold and final. "I was told to bring the Pleaser in by any means necessary, and it appears I will need the blonde one as well." He gave a small nod, while Sasuke glared at the floor and crossed his arms.

Gaara and Kankuro held their captives tighter and reached into their pockets, each retrieving a handkerchief.

Shikamaru knew what was coming and held his breath as the cloth was placed over his nose and mouth, trying to ignore the sharp stinging on his damaged lip. He watched as Naruto fought for a moment before he stilled, blue eyes fluttering closed and he went limp against Gaara.

The Nara's fury boiled just below his skin as he glared at Itachi. How _dare_ he get Naruto involved! The blonde had absolutely _nothing_ to do with his past as an entertainer! He was going to voice his thoughts, but forgot about the cloth over his face and breathed it in deeply. Within moments, his eyelids became heavy and his knees buckled, the last thing he saw was his lover's sleeping form and a rare smile slide onto Itachi's face.


	11. For The One I Love

For the One I Love

Pain glared at the prone figure of what Deidara's clients had dubbed 'the Pleaser.' He did have to admit that the teenager did have a very attractive body and face. Well, he was sure his face would be a lot more handsome once the wounds upon it had healed. Unfortunately, that wouldn't be for a few days and he found himself feeling disappointed at the delay.

"Sorry about that," Itachi voiced beside him, his tone as emotionless as ever. "The one who gave me Shikamaru's location seemed to have a plan of his own, and I knew he wouldn't be satisfied unless he got a few good hits on this one."

The Akatsuki leader sighed. "You do realize that he can't work in this condition, right, Itachi?" he asked, his tone just as vague.

The raven-haired man shrugged; it was just a small movement of the shoulders, but a shrug nonetheless. "Three days, tops."

The teenager lying on the couch groaned, eyes fluttering open and a hand gently coming to rest on the bruised flesh.

Pain smirked as he slowly sat up and looked around the room briefly, before settling his gaze on the oldest man. "Hello, Shikamaru," he greeted, not offering his hand, knowing full well the confused teen wouldn't take it. "Or would you prefer to be addressed as 'the Pleaser?'"

Shikamaru glared up at him, hands clutching onto the leather couch tightly. "I'm _not_ working for anybody," he hissed. "That part of my life is over."

Pain glanced at his subordinate a moment, who nodded and left the room, the dark haired teen not breaking his gaze from this man's face. "I assure you," he responded, "it most certainly is not."

"You can't make me do it!" Shikamaru shouted, standing swiftly from the cushions. "I'll never work for Itachi again!"

The Akatsuki leader chuckled; this boy was most amusing. "I wouldn't dream of having you work for Itachi."

The teen blinked and gave him a curious look. "Who are you?"

"You are far too valuable, Shikamaru," he said, not answering the confused young man. He walked over to some cabinets on the other side of the dark room and continued, "It was such a shame that Deidara's operation got discovered. You'd probably be already working here if that little bump in the road hadn't stopped you." He poured a bit of a dark colored liquid into a glass and began sipping from it as he slowly strolled back toward a fuming teen. "Deidara always spoke very highly of you and Itachi backs up that claim. That's all the proof I need. You will no longer be working with my subordinates, Shikamaru, but in my own personal brothel."

The teen's eyes widened as the man before him continued to casually sip his drink and pace about the dark office.

"At this level of the game, however," he explained, "you will get absolutely no cut of the money you receive. Yes, the price for people to have you is much more than you were making before, but any and all payment goes straight to one of my many secretaries who schedule your appointments. You will eat when given food, sleep when told to, and entertain like you have in the past. All the drugs in the facility are free to the entertainers, which you are allowed to gather in your free time. Entertainers are not encouraged to communicate with each other; you are here to turn a profit, not find friends." Pain turned back to Shikamaru and smirked. "Is that clear, Shikamaru?"

The Nara's eyes burned. "Who the hell said I'd work for you?! I don't even know who you fucking are, and I _refuse_ to go back to that life! Never again!!"

The leader sighed and put down his empty glass. "Oh, I think you'll change your mind, Shikamaru; everybody always does."

At that moment, the door opened and Itachi dragged a very irritated looking blonde inside, throwing him into a chair.

Shikamaru's dark eyes widened again at the sight of Naruto; his hands were tied behind his back, duct tape settling firmly over his mouth, and he now adorned a black eye. He stared in horror as the leader strolled over to the desk in the room and dug through a drawer, then walked back over to him.

"Work for me," Pain ordered, holding out a syringe and a rubber hose.

The Nara's dark eyes gazed at the items and his arm twitched.

He remembered.

How could he have forgotten his escape? It had brought him such pleasure, made him forget about his life. It was such a fantastic experience and one his body seemed quick to want to do again. He could feel the muscles in his arm start to spasm in protest to his hesitation and he brought his opposite hand up to try and rub the odd sensation away.

Why was he hesitating, his mind wondered. He knew how to take the substance, the incident before was a mistake. People make mistakes all the time. All he had to do was be careful when measuring it out, that's all. There wouldn't be any more mistakes; everything would be done much smarter.

'_Take it!_' a small voice in his head cried out. '_Take it! Please release me!_' Release who? Was that the man Shikamaru had once been, all those months ago? It didn't much matter either way. He wanted his escape.

A high-pitched whine broke through his thoughts, as his arm was stretched out to grab the syringe. The Nara turned toward the sound and saw a teenager with wild locks of blonde hair that looked to have been taken from the sun itself and large blue eyes, the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen in his life. Who was this guy again?

'_Naruto,_' his mind supplied and he blinked dumbly for a moment. Why was Naruto here? Wasn't he dating that emo kid he had a crush on?

The blonde teen shrugged. "We broke up."

Broke up? Why? Naruto had been ogling the raven-haired teen since they'd been in middle school; he even played a part in getting the two dating! There was no logical reason behind this action!

A small touch of pink rose on tanned, whiskered cheeks, blue eyes looking away again. "…Sasuke… said something bad about you… so I punched him."

Shikamaru smiled as the statement was repeated in his head. Slowly, the need for his escape was pushed away, back into the dark recesses of his mind where they belonged, the memories of Naruto taking their place.

Blazingly blue eyes looked away and one hand reached up to rub at his neck. "Well, I… uh, I was worried about you."

"_I decided there was no way that you could have cheated off me."_

_The other smiled again. "Because I care about you."_

"_I think," Naruto whispered; he was so close Shikamaru could feel hot breath ghost over his skin, "that I make you nervous."_

"_Would you like me to help you, Shikamaru?" Naruto whispered, giving his earlobe an experimental lick._

'_Yes,_' Shikamaru pleaded in his head, taking a deep breath and stopped rubbing his arm. '_Please help me, Naruto._' He straightened his back and looked right into the older man's eyes. "Go find yourself another whore, because that's _not_ what I am… not anymore."

Pain gazed at the determined teen for a long moment, before a sly grin grew on his thin lips. "Very well," he agreed, walking over to the blonde.

Itachi untied one arm and held it out as Naruto struggled against the hold.

The leader looked back at Shikamaru, his dark eyes looking horrified.

"If we can't recruit you," he said, tying the rubber hose around the blonde's bicep, "we'll just have to see if this one can be trained." Slowly, Pain brought the syringe to the teen's arm and quickly found the vein to puncture.

"No!"

The Akatsuki leader turned to see the dark haired teen a few steps closer and had his hands outstretched toward them. He smirked and took the needle away from the blonde's arm, casually taking the few steps separating them to stand in front of Shikamaru. "What is it?" he asked.

The Nara clutched his hands to fists, a horrible feeling of dread pooling in the pit of his stomach. He didn't want to do this, damn it! However, if they were going to threaten to use Naruto… he couldn't let them do it. He never wanted his precious blonde to go through what he had.

"I'll… I'll do it," Shikamaru whispered.

Pain leaned in a little closer. "You'll do what, Shikamaru?"

"I'll be your fucking whore!" he spat. "Just leave Naruto out of this! I don't want a single narcotic touching him, or me, for that matter. I'll entertain for you, but I refuse to take any more drugs."

The Akatsuki leader stared at the teen a long moment. He doubted he would get anything better; this boy seemed just as stubborn as some of his subordinates could be. He lightly sighed and straightened his back. "Very well, Shikamaru, if that is your final decision. Follow me."

Shikamaru sighed in defeat and gave Naruto one final glance, his heart clenching in pain as the blonde's big eyes pleaded him not to go. He followed the older man out of the office, his mind screaming and heart aching.

"I'm sorry, Naruto."

Minato scowled as he rang the doorbell again. The sun had set a while ago, and he was slightly worried that there were no lights on in the Nara household. He had told his son that he'd stop by to check on the two teenagers today, why weren't they answering the door?

He pounded on the wood, but only heard silence on the other end. He reached for the knob and slowly turned it, quite surprised to find it unlocked.

Tentatively, Minato opened the door and peered into the dark house. "Naruto? Shikamaru?" There was no answer as he stepped over the threshold. He carefully looked into the darkness and eventually found a light switch. Flicking it on, a carpeted staircase was now visible before him and he took no time in climbing them, calling his son's name and receiving silence.

The blonde man peeked into a room and immediately identified it as Shikamaru's. Turning on the light, he looked around but didn't find much of anything. A blush crept onto his cheeks as a discovery was found and he cleared his throat, the slight smell of sex still floating on the air. "Glad to see they're getting along," Minato whispered, quickly exiting the room so his imagination wouldn't be flooded by such perversions, although in the back of his mind, he knew his old mentor would want all the details if he let it slip what he'd found.

Descending the stairs, his blue eyes caught sight of the entryway and widened. He now saw what he couldn't in the dark; a side table had been knocked over, a picture had fallen from it's place on the wall and shattered, and… blood.

Minato blinked and jumped the rest of the steps, carefully kneeling to look at the red spots with a scrutinizing eye. '_Yep, definitely blood._' He stood to his full height and glanced around, his heart beginning to drum frantically as panic slowly started pumping into his veins.

The blonde spotted backpacks by the kitchen table and was digging in them in a flash. He looked through both bags and knew something was very wrong.

At first, the thought crossed his mind that maybe Shikamaru wanted to leave and Naruto wouldn't let him, resulting in a fight that caused some bleeding. Probably nothing serious.

However, as he gazed down at the papers in front of him, Minato realized that something bad had happened. If the Nara teen really planned to leave and return to that life he once had, why would such a lazy young man bother with finishing his homework due the following week?

"Fuck," the blonde whispered, grabbing his cell phone. As he dialed for the police, he prayed for the teens' safety… and for their lives.


	12. Like Riding A Bike

Like Riding A Bike

Push, moan, thrust.

It was a simple routine, and Shikamaru _remembered_. Nothing had changed, it seemed. The customers were the same, the money was the same, and he was pretty sure the drugs were the same, had he decided to take them. Thankfully, this man he worked for had been very kind about him not wanting any more narcotics. However, this boss of Itachi's never gave him a name and that left the teen a little unnerved.

Squeeze, arch, growl.

He didn't know why it was so surprising to him that nothing was different. He supposed the need was still the same, so the method to reach said need wouldn't alter either. His clients, though, were a little… _snobbier_ than he was used to. They would yell at him for the tiniest thing, like not smiling at the right moment or calling a name at the wrong time.

Groan, call out, touch.

Were these new customers politicians? He didn't really know nor did he really care. His mind just offhandedly noted that they seemed to work for the government in some way. The fact that they were stingy with money was one clue. While the teen was being "presented" to a room full of eligible customers, there were many he heard saying his price was too high; nobody would pay that much for a teenage boy. They quickly retracted the statement, however, when the teen's… _pimp_ told them what he was called.

Scratch, pant, thrust harder.

The term "whore" was used a lot here. He didn't like it. "Entertainer" was more accurate; at least that's what Deidara had told him… back when he _liked_ to do this kind of thing. He had gotten to wondering if it had been the drugs that made what he was doing likable. The teen certainly hadn't started with _prostitution_; he'd started with addicting narcotics, which led him into whoring for the money to get it.

Grab, pump, bite.

The shaking had returned on its own. Not the trembling for drugs, but the fear of the job. He remembered feeling this same way before, working for Deidara. Now it just seemed a bit more intense. Some of the clients were extremely rough and the teen had been forced on more than one occasion to wear make up to cover the bruises, so his following customer would think he was getting a fresh lay. It took a lot of control to stop the screams from tearing his throat apart.

Pull out, kneel, suck.

Some clients were offended that such marks were covered up. It seemed to be another sick fetish people were getting into; banging people who'd already been damn near raped. They weren't careful about it either. Those types enjoyed nailing the tenderest spots with even more pressure, sometimes causing blood to escape the flesh or the teen to cry at the pain of it. The tears only fueled the fire, it seemed.

_Squeeze, suck harder, swallow._

Get paid.

_He remembered_ that's how it was.

Shikamaru didn't want it!

The one thing that he liked so long ago was no longer what he wanted. Could it be that he'd found something more? He had come to realize that the life he was living with his parents, going to Minato Namikaze's school, and spending time with Naruto had actually brought him happiness. He wanted to be _happy_, damn it! This life could no longer give him what he needed.

He sighed as he pulled on the familiar purple died kimono, his recent client having just left the room. It wasn't as big as his previous entertainment quarters with Deidara, but just as luxurious. The bed was big enough for four people to lie in it comfortably, the walls were a soft blue matching the tone of the evening sky and it made the teen's heart weep.

That was the color of Naruto's brilliant eyes when he was coming out of a deep sleep.

Shikamaru remembered that.

Thoughts of the blonde were what kept him going. He knew his current employer wouldn't have been dumb enough to just release him. He would keep his blue-eyed Adonis around to keep the Nara in line.

He sure as hell didn't want that.

Shikamaru feared that it was only a matter of time before his boss exposed him to this life. He wanted to keep his precious one safe and did as he was told, acted as he should, so as not to give the nameless man an excuse.

His dark eyes gazed to the small nightstand and he grabbed the bundle of bills sitting atop it. Counting it once more to make sure it was the right amount, Shikamaru slowly stood and limped to the door. His whole body protested to the movement.

Unfortunately, his current employer didn't believe in recovery time, unlike Deidara. He was forced to play out his part, sore ass or no sore ass.

Sighing again, the Nara exited the room to travel the short distance to the secretary handling the paperwork, hoping that the one most important to him was all right.

Naruto couldn't move. His arms and legs were bound, the tape across his mouth still stubbornly sticking to his skin, and a blindfold kept him encased in darkness. He knew he was on a bed, the soft texture beneath his cheek confirming it. He wouldn't say he was comfortable, but he knew there could be worse places for him.

The blonde still couldn't believe Shikamaru. Sure, he understood that he was only trying to protect Naruto, but he didn't have to agree to it! The blonde would have done anything to make sure the dark haired teen walked away without having to become a… _whore_ again.

'_No,_' the blonde scolded himself. '_Shikamaru isn't a whore and never will be again! He's… he's just acting to protect me._' His heart ached at the thought. Why couldn't _he_ protect Shikamaru?

All his thoughts stopped as he heard the door open and close, bringing with it two male voices.

"I don't think we should do this, Kotetsu," one of them said. "The boss said he was off limits."

There was a snort from the other man. "Chill out, Izumo. Besides, I'm not going against any orders here. We were told he couldn't be whored and no illegal substances were to be given to him."

Izumo paused. "And what you're planning to do sounds like you'll be breaking those rules."

Naruto's heart skipped a beat and began pounding frantically in his chest. Were these two going to… _rape_ him?!

"On the contrary," Kotetsu replied calmly. "If we were going to treat him like a whore, there would be payment involved, which won't be happening. Also, I won't be giving him anything illegal."

"And that stuff is legal?"

"I bought it at a gas station!" There was another short pause before Kotetsu spoke again. "Besides, Izumo, I know you want a piece of that."

"That's _not_ the point here!" Izumo squeaked. "Do you know how deep of shit we could get into if we do this?"

"Oh, come on! You know just as well as I that this kid is going to end up as a whore eventually; I just want a shot at him while it's still free!"

'_No!_' Naruto screamed in his mind. Panic began to sweep through his body and he began struggling at his restraints.

"Great," Izumo muttered, "Now you've gone and scared the guy."

"Oh shut up."

The blonde heard a shuffling of feet and suddenly his blindfold was ripped away from his eyes. He blinked a few times, even the soft light of the room being too much stimulation for his orbs. After his vision finally adjusted, he looked up to see one of the men standing by the bed, leering at him. Fear ran his blood cold and he continued to struggle.

The man shook his head, his long, shaggy hair tossing about at the movement, as if knowing the teen's attempts were futile. "Doesn't he look gorgeous?" he asked, identifying himself as Kotetsu.

Izumo stood a few feet away, his arms crossed over his chest and a red bandana adorning his head. He sighed and rolled his eyes. "All right, just hurry it up. We don't have a lot of time."

Naruto's eyes widened as Kotetsu reached into his pocket and took something out, clutching it within his hand so the blonde couldn't see. He gently rolled the teen onto his back and grabbed the corner of the duct tape, tearing it violently from his face.

The blonde screamed at the sharp pain, only to be immediately silenced by Kotetsu slapping his hand over the teen's mouth, forcing a small pill passed his lips and tilted his head back.

Naruto had no choice but to swallow before it choked him.

When he was sure the blonde had taken the pill, Kotetsu removed his hand from the teen's mouth and sat on the edge of the bed, his dark eyes not leaving the tied up blonde.

His blue eyes were wide and full of confusion. What were they waiting for? Even the Izumo guy was staring at him like something was going to happen. What? What was going to happen? What did they make him take?!

After a few minutes, Naruto started to feel… odd. His heart was still pounding frantically within his chest, but the rhythm was smoother and the blood it was pumping was hot. It spread quickly throughout his body and he could feel his cheeks warm a little, his breathing becoming deeper, like there wasn't enough air in the room. His body kept getting hotter and his clothing started to make him feel uncomfortable. Damn he needed to undress.

'_No!_' Naruto thought frantically. '_I'm not getting naked in front of these two, I don't—_' His inner words were cut off as he gently moved his legs and a jolt of pleasure shot from his groin.

He was confused again. Was that… was he… _hard_?! '_No, it couldn't be,_' but as he tried to move again, he could plainly feel his erection straining against the cloth surrounding it. '_When… how the…. What the fuck's going on?!_'

Kotetsu smirked. "I think it's working." He reached out and brushed his fingers delicately over a scared cheek. "Shit, Izumo, he's hot!"

Izumo chuckled. "Then cool him off."

The other man also released a small laugh and slowly bent down to capture the teen's lips in a gentle kiss.

Naruto's eyes were wide and stared right into a pair of dark orbs, only getting wider as a hand was placed on his covered chest and moved down to carefully grasp his erection through his pants.

The blonde gasped at the pleasure. The moment his lips parted, Kotetsu's tongue darted inside and began exploring his mouth.

Naruto let out an involuntary moan, body arching into the touch.

'_No,_' he thought desperately. '_I don't want this!_'

Suddenly, the man's lips and tongue were gone and the blonde opened his closed lids, briefly wondering when they had, then widening again as he watched both men strip of their clothing in silence.

Naruto's voice wouldn't obey his commands. He wanted to scream at them, shout for them to leave him alone, but was embarrassed, as all that escaped was a throaty whine.

Kotetsu looked up at him, just as he finished removing his pants. A grin appeared on his face and it made the blonde shiver. "Be right there, sweetheart."

Izumo rolled his eyes, but remained silent, taking off the last of his clothing.

Kotetsu climbed onto the bed and began to unbutton Naruto's shirt, the teen writhing beneath the barely there touches. His grin widened as he finished the last of the buttons and opened the white cloth to reveal the blonde's tanned torso. "Damn…." Kotetsu's hands began roaming over Naruto's chest and he arched into it.

The blonde's skin was so sensitive. The slightest touch sent waves of pleasure coursing through his body and landing firmly in his groin. He moaned loudly as fingers began playing with his painfully pert nipples, hips thrusting upwards to get some stimulation.

Kotetsu outright smiled. "I think he wants it bad, Izumo."

'_No. I don't want… it's my damn body…._'

"Then give it to him," Izumo stated, coming to stand beside the bed, eyes locked on the two.

Kotetsu untied Naruto's wrists and ankles, glad that there was no resistance.

Naruto wanted to hit him, wanted to punch him clear across the room, but his body wasn't following any of his commands and the hand he was going to throw landed on his groin instead. He moaned and arched into his own touch, and slid his hand beneath the rough material of his pants to grasp himself.

A small cry left his lips. It felt so… _good_. He started thrusting his hips as his other hand came to rest on a nipple, pulling at it to create even more delicious sensations to run through his body. '_I don't…._'

"Shit, he's hot," Izumo whispered, his own hand gently stroking himself at the sight.

"Let's get these off," Kotetsu suggested, unzipping the fly and pulling the unwanted garment away from the blonde's overheated skin, taking the boxers with it.

Naruto gasped as the cool air reached his flesh and he spread his legs to give himself better access to touch himself.

"Fuck, man," Kotetsu whispered, kneeling between the blonde's parted thighs. "I'm going to cum just watching!"

The blonde moaned in approval, holding his weeping erection tighter. '_Stop…._'

"Here," Izumo spoke, handing the man on the bed a bottle of lube. "I'm not getting bitched at for hurting the brat."

Kotetsu smiled again and quickly placed the cool liquid on his fingers, placing them at the teen's entrance.

Naruto gasped, arched, and groaned loudly as a slick finger was inserted into him. '_No, please…._' He thrust his hips back as a second was added then a third. It felt so fucking good! He impaled the digits into his more than willing body, still stroking his hard flesh.

The blonde's head thrashed on the pillow, sweat rolling profusely down his face. He didn't understand why his body wasn't listening to his mind. He didn't want this, damn it! Couldn't these two see that? He brought forward the last control he had and used it to push one word passed his lips in a harsh whine. "N-nooo."

Kotetsu looked at the teen's pleading blue eyes, halting his movements, although the blonde continued to thrust his hips. "'No,' huh? Well, I've got something you'll be screaming for."

Naruto lightly scowled in disappointment as the fingers were withdrawn from his body, but it quickly vanished as something hotter and bigger took their place. He cried out as Kotetsu slammed his erection into the teen in one smooth thrust.

The blonde couldn't breathe; it was too big, filled him too much! However there was no pain; it felt too good. He panted, thrusting his hips a little to get the man to move.

"Fuck, he's tight," Kotetsu gasped and began a slow pace of pushing into the body beneath him.

'_N-no… please, it's…._' It's too slow…. Damn, he needed to come, and he needed to do it now! He was too hot, too full, too hard! The blonde knew he needed release and was upset that it couldn't be reached.

"P-please," Naruto whispered, the words slipping passed his lips without permission. "Please, I need…."

"What was that?" Kotetsu asked, giving the teen a hard thrust.

"Ah! Faster! Please!"

The man smirked, pulling out of the blonde before flipping him to his hands and knees and turned so they faced Izumo. Without warning he plunged back into the tight heat, making the blonde scream as he thrust faster.

"Ah, fuck, yes!" Naruto cried out as the shaft impaling him hit his prostate. A hand grasped his sweat soaked hair almost too tightly, and he was forced to look up at Izumo, who looked down at him with a cocky grin.

"Put that mouth to good use," he commanded, lowering the blonde's head until he was staring straight at the man's erection.

"Oh, yeeah," Kotetsu groaned from behind him, "suck him while you're being fucked."

Naruto made a small noise before wrapping his lips around the large shaft, idly sucking and licking the hot flesh.

The hand in his hair pushed him further down on it. "Take it like a bitch," Izumo muttered.

'_No, I don't want it,_' his mind pleaded. Why did it feel so good to have one hard member in his mouth while another pounded into his ass? The sensations were driving him insane; he needed to release it, clear the fog so he could think again.

Izumo's erection was nearly touching the back of his throat, and the blonde was sure he'd gag, but a particularly hard thrust caused a cry that never passed his lips and was instead absorbed by the organ residing between them.

Izumo moaned loudly, pulling himself out and spurting hot, white seed on the blonde's face.

"Oh, fuck yes," Kotetsu gasped, doubling his pace at the sight. He reached a hand around the slender waist and wrapped his fingers around Naruto's still very hard erection, pumping it roughly.

Naruto cried out, thrusting his hips, feeling the edge quickly approaching. He was almost there, just… a little… _more_….

He threw his head back, screaming loudly as his body tensed, finally releasing his essence across the sheets. The euphoria surrounded his mind, blocking out everything, almost making him forget he had a body, and he shivered in delight as something warm filled him.

For a while, he laid there, collapsed on the wet sheets, panting heavily. His eyelids were too heavy to lift and his body felt like jelly. That was too much for him, he decided.

"Come on, hurry up," Izumo's voice reached his ears.

"All right, just give me a second!" Kotetsu's hoarse tone replied. "You can't expect me to move real fast after fucking somebody senseless, Izumo."

"Which we will tell no one, agreed?"

"Yeah, yeah. Wouldn't want the boss to castrate me."

"Let's just go, we're already going to be late!"

"Hold on." Naruto felt a soft kiss placed on his temple. "Good bye, sweetheart," Kotetsu whispered. "You were amazing."

"I wish you wouldn't do that," Izumo mumbled.

"Aw, don't be jealous! There's only room for one in my heart, and you're the one who's filled the space, babe."

Their voices faded as the door opened and closed again.

Naruto didn't move. He could feel the seed on his face starting to dry and something leaking from his stretched hole, but he remained still.

He was… confused. Why had he liked that? He sure as hell didn't want it, so why had his body reacted that way? Was that… how _whores_ acted? Do they jump on the first person who is more than willing to fuck them? Is that what Shikamaru does?

Shikamaru….

Naruto's heart clenched tightly. '_If he's supposed to be protecting me, why didn't he…._' Tears slid from blue eyes and he turned to grab onto a pillow, holding it close like he did with the fox at home.

"Why didn't he stop them?" he mumbled into the fabric. "Why didn't that bastard come to my rescue? Why did he let them do that?!" The blonde sobbed heavily, body trembling. He felt so… _dirty_. It wasn't just the stickiness clinging to his skin, either. Deep inside his soul, Naruto felt soiled, unworthy… like a _whore_.


	13. Patience Is A Virtue

Patience Is A Virtue

Shikaku had been officially banned from the police station. His chief told him and his wife to stay at home and await for a hopeful phone call, one the Nara's knew would probably never come.

He sat at the kitchen table, glaring at the cooling cup of tea that had been placed before him. Yoshino was at his side, biting her nails in her usual way, whenever she was nervous, worried, or quietly fuming. In this case, Shikaku figured it was all three. Minato Namikaze sat across from them, his blue eyes staring at an old looking stuffed fox he had brought, with a pensive and sad expression.

The blonde man had spent most of his time with the Nara's lately, wanting answers just as badly and not wanting to return to an empty house. Shikaku realized that it must have been much harder on Minato to have his son missing, especially since his wife had passed away. Naruto was all the man had.

It had been a few days since the blonde had stopped by to check on the boys only to find them missing. Most everyone agreed that someone had taken the two away, and the police suspected Akatsuki. During the investigation and raid of Deidara's establishment, it seemed that Shikamaru had brought the very elusive organization a lot of money; it only made sense that they'd want him back. It was still pretty much in the air why Naruto had vanished too.

_Leverage._ That's what Shikaku thought and he knew Minato was thinking that, too, although he knew better than to voice it. What better way to bring in a person who didn't want to come than by threatening someone who they thought to be precious? The elder Nara had known about his son's crush on the blonde since they'd met back in grade school. He remembered teasing him about it, enjoying the sight of Shikamaru's cheeks flushing accompanied with a glare was such an adorable expression on him.

The clock ticked endlessly, every second passing slower than the first.

Shikaku knew waiting was the hardest part. He had seen several parents, spouses, and children fall apart as every minute would draw out with no word from their missing loved one. It was harder this time, though. Before, they knew Shikamaru had run away. Now he had been kidnapped with Naruto and no one knew if they were even alive.

The small thought had crossed his mind, but the Nara had forced it away. It was his job to expect the worst, but he refused to in this situation. He had to believe they were alive and being held captive somewhere. They _would_ be found.

Just as Shikaku was reassuring himself, the front door opened and closed. Inoichi and Chouza walked into the room, the others standing. There was a small flicker of hope in his closest friends' eyes, and it warmed his heart. _Good news._

"Did you find them?" Yoshino asked, grasping her husband's arm in an almost bone crushing grip.

Both men looked away.

"Well, no," Inoichi said softly, "but we did find out something."

"What?" Minato asked, his voice calm.

"It turns out," Chouza answered, "that there's a high ranking under cover officer who has been investigating the Akatsuki for several years, now. He was the one who actually helped us bag Deidara."

"He's been updated on the situation," Inoichi continued, "and the word is that he's moving in on the heart of the operation."

"That's all you know?" Yoshino asked after a few moments of listening to the clock tick slowly.

The longhaired blonde rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, yeah. He's undercover, so we don't even know his name or whereabouts. We just thought that you should know. Something _is_ being done here."

Shikaku smiled a little, releasing his arm from his wife's death grip to wrap around her shoulders. "Thank you," he whispered, truly grateful his friends would give them the information. Granted, it wasn't a lot, but even the smallest drop of water shouldn't go to waste in a desert.

Minato had slightly paled and his eyes drifted to the floor, white teeth peeking out to grasp his bottom lip. After a moment, he grabbed his cell phone that he had placed beside the stuffed fox and headed for the back door, mumbling an excuse about needing some fresh air.

Once outside, he flipped open the phone and quickly scrolled through his contacts. It seemed to take forever before he finally found the correct name and hit the send button.

Ringing sounded through the earpiece and he wondered if the man he was calling would answer. It didn't really matter, he decided, leaving a message would work if it had to. He was just preparing himself for what to tell the voicemail when the ringing ceased.

"Hello?" a deep voice said through the slight static.

Minato paused a moment, the words he wanted to say leaving his mind. "Uh, hi."

"Minato. How are you doing?" The question sounded neutral, and it made sense, the blonde hadn't talked to this man in a very long time.

"Not real good," he admitted, deciding that the truth would be best here. "Naruto's… gone missing." He had to take a deep breath to push back the lump rising to his throat and tears pooling in his eyes.

The man on the other end sighed. "I'm really sorry to hear that. Don't worry yourself too much, though. Naruto's a tough kid; he can handle himself."

Minato let out a small laugh. "Yeah, I know. He's a lot like his mother." A tear rolled down his cheek despite his efforts to keep it back.

"Like I said," the man said in a very soothing tone, "don't worry. I'm sure he's fine." A moment of silence passed as the blonde struggled with what to say next. "Did you want to tell me something else, Minato?"

He inhaled deeply. "Yeah, uh, I would really… really appreciate it if you could… help out… in looking for him."

The man paused. "You know I will do what I can, Minato."

A small sob escaped the blonde's throat, a few tears running down his face. "Thank you," he whispered.

"In the mean time, I suggest you get some sleep. You sound exhausted."

Minato swallowed, sniffing. "I'll try, sir."

There was a heavy sigh on the other end. "What have I told you about this 'sir' crap? Please knock it off; I feel old enough as it is."

The blonde started a laugh that ended in a choked sob. "Right, sorry. I forgot."

"Listen, Minato, Naruto is fine and he'll be home before you know it."

Blue eyes began overflowing with tears he could no longer contain and he softly fell to his knees, his free hand shaking as it rested over his mouth, trying to stifle the sobs escaping his lips.

"Thank you," he whispered after a few moments. "Thank you… _so much_."

"Quit thanking me and get some sleep. Be sure to keep me posted and I'll talk to you later." Before the blonde had the chance to say a good bye, the other man hung up his phone.

Slowly, Minato did the same. He was so _scared_. It was eating away his sanity and his will. He didn't know what he'd do if he lost Naruto.

The blonde's tear stained face looked up into the night sky. The sun had completely set only an hour or two before and the stars were twinkling happily against the velvety blue heavens so far away. "Please my dearest," Minato whispered, his heart trying to reach the spirit of the woman he had loved so much. "Please protect our son. Watch over him and help him find the way home."

The stars flickered madly a moment before settling down again and the blonde broke down. Dropping his phone into the soft grass he toppled the rest of the way to the cool earth beneath him, great sobs shaking his form and pushing heavy tears from his darkened blue eyes.

He was scared out of his mind, and he was pretty sure his wife was, too.


	14. The Odd Client

The Odd Client

Shikamaru waited patiently in his room for the next client. He couldn't remember how many days had passed since the work had started, but he knew it really didn't matter. As long as he was doing his job, he knew the blonde he was trying to protect would be all right. At least, he hoped so.

He sat in the middle of the bed and adjusted his kimono so it fell off one shoulder, a slender leg peeking from beneath the soft fabric. He sighed and stared at the door.

As it opened, he put a seductive look on his face, one that had been carefully practiced and perfected from ages ago.

A tall man walked into the room, shutting the door behind him. He was dressed as all were who entered here, in a dark business suit, making him look even taller than he was. Long locks of shaggy white hair fell from his head and were tied back in a futile attempt at keeping it at bay. His face was very handsome, the teen noted, more so than most. Red markings ran from dark eyes down the sides of his cheeks and framed his masculine features perfectly. His thin lips were drawn up in a smile that sent a delightful shiver down his spine. It had been quite a while since a client's look had done that.

The man walked over to the bed, sitting on the edge, eyes looking straight at Shikamaru.

He found it odd. The other wasn't visually molesting his body, like all the others do. His gaze was locked onto the teen's dark eyes, almost as if they were looking for something.

"So you're the one people are calling 'the Pleaser.'" The man's voice was somewhat deep and soothing, sending another tremor down his back.

Remembering his place, the teen let a small smirk cross his lips as he crawled over to the older male. "That's right. Care to see why?" He wrapped his arms around the other's shoulders, pressing his body against his back, burying his nose within that white mane and inhaling deeply. This man's scent was actually quite nice, not overbearing like the others.

The man chuckled and gently pushed the teen away from him. "Easy there."

Shikamaru gave him a confused look, trying to pout. Maybe that's what he wanted. "Didn't you come all the way here for me?" He was leaning back on the bed and spread his legs a little, exposing more of his tanned skin.

The white-haired man chuckled. "In a way, I guess I did."

"Well, then make this worth your while." He crawled over again to sit beside him, reaching out a hand to touch his thigh. "However you want it, I can give it to you."

He chuckled again, reaching into his jacket and retrieving a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. "I'm sure you could."

Shikamaru raised a curious eyebrow as the other lit a cigarette, placing the items back into his jacket. "A smoke _before_ sex? You certainly are an odd one."

The man took a drag and released the white toxin into the air, giving the teen a smirk. "I'm not the only one. To think someone of your age working at a place like this, and to be one of the more expensive ones at that."

The teen shrugged. "Natural talent, I suppose."

"There's more to this than mere talent. Most of it comes from experience."

A smug smirk grew on his face. "Which I've had plenty of."

The white-haired man raised an eyebrow at him. "Really? How long have you been working here?"

Shikamaru looked away, his expression turning to an unwanted sadness. "Well, uh, _here_… it's only been a few days… I think," he mumbled, losing his composure. "But I worked somewhere else for almost a year." He set his face back into his seduction mode, raising his eyes to the older man. "I assure you, I'm no novice when it comes to sex."

The other smiled, taking another drag. "So I've heard. This guy that you're working for, he took you away from where you were to bring you here?"

The teen shrugged. "Something like that."

"Then I take it you weren't happy at this other place." His voice was soft and gentle, and Shikamaru was beginning to forget that they were supposed to be fucking on the bed right now and not talking.

He shook his head, gazing at the wall across from him a moment, lightly recalling his time spent with Deidara. "I never said I was 'happy,' but from what I understood, nobody there was. It was just a way to get some cash, that's all, but… I had _liked_ it."

"And this place is a lot better, right?"

The teen scowled, his voice low and sharp. "I _hate_ it here."

The white-haired man also lowered his tone. "Then why stay?"

He sighed, a vision of brilliantly blue eyes and wildly blonde hair flashing across his mind. "Because I have no choice."

The other silently nodded, inhaling more smoke. They remained silent for a few minutes until it finally snapped in Shikamaru's head what they were _supposed_ to be doing. He plastered his seduction look on his face once more and leaned onto the man.

"Now that were done talking, we can move on to more… interesting things," the teen cooed.

The older man gave him a sideways glance before taking a final drag of his cigarette and leaning over to put it out in the ashtray on the nightstand, nearly pressing his body fully against the teen.

'_Holy shit, this guy's body must have been chiseled out of fucking marble!_' he thought as his hands could feel the taught muscles covered by layers of fabric.

The man sat back and looked into Shikamaru's dark eyes, his look pensive and intense, causing another shiver.

"No."

…What? Had he heard right? Did this guy just refuse mind blowing sex?! Nobody did that! What was the whole point if he didn't want a good lay?

The confused teen watched as the white-haired man stood and reached for his wallet, pulling out the money that would cover their time together.

Shikamaru had never had a client who didn't want sex. It was weird. What was he supposed to do? What would he tell the secretaries as he turned the money in? The time was too short! And he sure as hell didn't look like he'd had any sex! No, he couldn't let someone just walk out of his room without a lay, that just _didn't_ happen!

He jumped up to stand in front of the man, his eyes determined. "Fuck me."

The man sighed. "Why? You obviously don't want it." He went to walk around him, but the teen got a firm hold on his wrist.

"You have to!" he whispered sharply, his voice edging on panic.

The other turned to him. "No, I don't. I'm the customer here. If I don't want sex, I don't have to have it."

"You don't understand!" Shikamaru almost shouted. He swallowed and kept his gaze to the carpeted floor. "I've never had a client who didn't want me. I can't have you leave this room without feeling satisfied, damn it! It… it will only give him an excuse…." Frightened tears filled his eyes that he fought back.

The white-haired man gently lifted the teen's chin to look into his face. His eyes held concern and it was emphasized in his voice. "It will give who an excuse for what?"

"...My boss," he choked out. "I… I didn't want to work here, so he's holding a friend of mine so I'll do my job without complaint. If he sees you like that, he'll know something isn't right and I'm sure he'll punish my friend and not me!"

Shikamaru was surprised when two strong arms wrapped around him and held him against a warm body. The man gently rocked him, whispering comforting things as the teen silently wept against him.

"So you're doing this to protect your friend?" the man asked, voice soothing.

The teen silently nodded.

"…Okay, then."

Shikamaru looked up at his smiling face, slowly wiping his tears away.

"If it's for someone else's safety, I think I can do it." The man picked up the shocked teen and placed him on the bed. "I'll be careful," he whispered, lightly pressing his lips onto Shikamaru's.

He was careful… and gentle. Shikamaru hadn't had sex like that since he'd been with Naruto; everything the white-haired man did was for the teen's pleasure and he was silently grateful for the change. It sure as hell beat getting pounded into all the time.

Afterwards, the man gave the teen the appropriate amount of money and he took it rather reluctantly. This man had been so kind to him, again something he hadn't experienced in a long time.

He looked disheveled as he stood in the room, fully clothed. Now he appeared to have had sex and there would be nothing suspicious about it. He smiled warmly at the teen.

"Don't worry, Shikamaru," he whispered, surprising the teen by using his name. "There is a light at the end of the tunnel; you'll be out of here soon." With that, the man turned and left the room, leaving a shocked teenager in his wake.

What had he meant by that?

How did he know his name?!


	15. Rescue

Rescue

Naruto stared blankly at the food sitting before him. It had probably been a day or two since… _it_ happened. He was still confused over it and his heart was heavy with sadness. For some reason, he just couldn't shake off the betrayal he felt. Shikamaru cared for him and wanted to protect him. He didn't understand why the Nara hadn't come to his rescue, or why he hadn't seen the other in such a long while. Wasn't Shikamaru begging to see him? Didn't he want to check on the blonde's condition? Make sure he was safe?

He sighed as frustration began swirling heavily inside him, slowly starting to heat anger and hate within his blood. The blonde would be sure to ask the Nara when he saw him again… if ever.

Naruto was forced from his thoughts as the door burst open and Izumo and Kotetsu ran into the room.

His blue eyes widened at the slightly panicked look on their faces and the guns in their hands.

"Grab him and let's go!" Izumo ordered, standing at the doorway and continually peering out.

Kotetsu wasted no time and grabbed Naruto by his arm, pulling him from the bed and spilling the contents of the food tray all over the floor.

"W-wh-what's going on?" Naruto squeaked as he was forced to the door.

The man holding him glanced down into confused eyes before looking into the hallway. "Just a bump in the road, sweetheart."

The blonde's stomach churned unpleasantly at the nickname; it was a good thing he hadn't eaten anything, otherwise he knew he would have just thrown up.

"It looks clear," Izumo said, his gun held tightly in his hand. "Remember our orders."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." After a moment, the two darted out the door, dragging Naruto behind them.

He didn't know what was going on; several people were running passed them, he could hear gunfire and screaming. Was the place being attacked?

"Through here!" Izumo shouted over the noise, and Kotetsu and Naruto followed him into another hallway that led to a stairwell, which they leapt down quickly. The door at the bottom opened up to another corridor, but this one was filled with some kind of smoke, and it burned the blonde's eyes and dried out his throat. He coughed heavily and his orbs overflowed with tears, obscuring his vision as he was pulled along.

Eventually, they entered through another door, and Naruto felt the cool fresh air hit him and he breathed deeply, trying to dispel the awful smoke from his lungs.

Izumo and Kotetsu led him a little further down the alley, away from the building they had left. The two finally stopped and began gasping for air, both their eyes darting around their location.

Naruto fell to his knees, hacking and coughing, his heart beating frantically in his chest, tears falling down his scarred cheeks.

"How the hell did they find us!" Kotetsu wondered, leaning against a concrete wall.

"I don't know," Izumo replied, standing close to the blonde. "I guess the boss slipped up somewhere. Man, he's going to be pissy for a very long fucking time."

"No shit. I might as well kill myself now and spare me the torture."

Izumo sighed, dark eyes drifting to the teen. "Speaking of killing…."

Kotetsu chuckled. "Oh, right. The job." He pushed himself from the wall and stood beside his comrade.

Naruto's blue eyes widened as Izumo cocked his gun. "W-what are you doing?" he whispered, his heart beginning to pound hard.

"Nothing personal, sweetheart," Kotetsu said, his voice light as if trying to reason with the teen. "The boss just thinks that under these circumstances, it would be better to eliminate a possible witness."

'_Eliminate? Oh, fuck… fuck… fuck, fuck, fuck!_' He slowly stood on shaky legs, his blue orbs focused on the gun Izumo was now pointing at him. He shook his head, fear pumping into his veins and pushing more tears onto his already wet face. "No," he whispered. "No… please… don't do this…."

Kotetsu looked the blonde over and released a small sigh, lightly nudging the other man. "Hey, could you give him a head start?"

"Kotetsu," he replied sternly, "we were ordered to take him out and I can't guarantee a killing shot while he's running away."

Naruto shivered.

"Come on, man. He was so good to us the other day. Couldn't you give him at least ten seconds? It'll be your thank you."

Izumo sighed loudly. "All right, fine. You've got until I count to 'ten,' blondie. You can either stand there like a frightened deer or you can try running away. It's your choice. One…."

The blonde blinked once, before turning tail and taking off down the alley.

"Two…."

He couldn't run fast enough. That damn smoke from the building was still present in his lungs, hindering his breathing. Plus the run out of there had pretty much used up the reserves he had.

"Three…."

He had to stop. After only a few steps, his chest hurt and his legs felt like jelly. He coughed heavily a few times, hacking up some mucus that he spit onto the ground.

"Four…."

"Not getting far there, sweetheart!" Kotetsu shouted.

Taking a large gulp of air, he started off again, only he stepped on his foot wrong and tripped, falling painfully onto the concrete.

"Five…."

Now it felt like someone was pinching his ankle from the inside and his cheek stung horribly. He reached up at felt a deep cut on the already scarred flesh and he winced at the blood covering his fingers.

"Six…."

Naruto slowly, but swiftly, got to his feet. He began to hobble away, the pain in his ankle increasing with every step.

"Seven…."

It hurt! Damn, he couldn't move fast enough! He knew that if he put his full weight on that foot, it would surely do more damage and force him to the ground again.

"Eight…."

Shikamaru…. Where was that bastard?! Wasn't he supposed to be protecting the blonde? He stopped his movements to glare at the men thirty feet away from him. Too close.

"Ni—"

"Naruto!!"

The rest of the number was drowned out as his name was shouted and the blonde recognized the voice.

He turned to look down an adjacent alley and saw a man with wild blonde locks and sharp blue eyes running to him. "Dad!" he shouted.

"Ten."

The gun was fired.


	16. Admitting Defeat, Part 2

Admitting Defeat, Part 2

Shikamaru hugged his knees, eyes focused intently on the wall across from him. He was in the hospital again. The police had raided that place he hated so much, and he was glad he never had to return there again. However, this miracle had its price.

The teen had bumped into Naruto outside the building as he was being led away. He was so happy his blonde was all right, but concerned at seeing his father being wheeled to an ambulance on a stretcher.

Naruto did not look happy to see Shikamaru at all. He hugged his knees tighter as he remembered the one he cared for so much calling him a bastard, punching him in the face so hard he fell to the ground and yelling at him before hobbling to the ambulance where his father had been taken.

"_If you can't fully protect someone, don't fucking bother at all!"_

The Nara buried his face within the thin blanket covering his legs, his tears being absorbed into the fabric. His beloved blonde had been raped, and there was nothing he could do to prevent it. The man he worked for had lied to him; Naruto had been touched and violated and he knew the other teen would never forgive him for it.

Shikamaru could understand Uzumaki's rage. From what he understood during the blonde's shouting, his father had come out of nowhere to take a bullet for him.

It was more than he'd done.

The Nara was ashamed that he hadn't done anything more than rely on the word of a criminal that the blonde would not be harmed. Fucking missed the mark on that one. He should have fought to see Naruto and make sure he was all right, although he wasn't sure what good that would have done. Even if he had seen the blonde and found out someone had raped him, what could he do? Refuse to work? That action would have only granted the blonde more pain, suffering, and that's what he was trying not to accomplish.

He sighed heavily, raising his face to stare at the wall again. He would have been screwed no matter what he did.

The door to his room opened, and Shikamaru suddenly found himself within his mother's arms as she cried into his shoulder. He wrapped his own around her tightly, just now realizing how he had missed her screeching voice. His father came up and hugged him from behind, joining them in a tearful reunion.

Shikamaru sighed contently. He had his parents again, and he knew he would never lose them.

Doctor Tsunade's aid, Shizune walked into the room a few minutes later and informed them that the teen's blood work came back normal; there were no drugs in his system, to the delight of his parents. She told the family that they wanted to keep Shikamaru overnight, for a routine observation, and that he could go home in the morning.

Shikamaru was grateful his parents decided to stay with him through the night. He didn't feel much like seeing them leave any time soon. A small cot was brought in for Yoshino, Shikaku insisting on taking the recliner.

They didn't go to sleep, though. Who would after finally finding their son after three weeks?

Shikamaru was surprised he had lasted that long. That white-haired client he'd had kept him going, though. If the man knew his name, he also knew something else was going on.

Shizune returned a while later to tell them that Minato Namikaze would be fine; the bullet he'd been hit with entered his shoulder but missed vital organs and would probably be released in a few days. The teen had tentatively asked about Naruto's condition, and she had happily informed him that he had a minor cut on his cheek that required a few stitches and a sprained ankle. He'd be out before his father.

Shikamaru sighed in relief. Naruto was all right… well, physically, anyway. He hoped he'd be able to talk to the blonde and help heal the part of him that had been damaged through the rape.

A moment later, a tall man wearing a dark suit entered the room. He introduced himself as Yamato and showed them his badge from the F.B.I.

"I am here in regards to your son," he said to his parents, Yoshino wrapping her arms around him in a possessive manner.

Shikaku lightly glared at the agent. "He's not under arrest," he stated. "The police have already taken his statement. My son was there by force."

Yamato looked evenly at the slightly taller man. "I am aware of that, but this boy has been in the presence of the leader of the Akatsuki and we were quite surprised to see that he survived."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. He had never heard the name "Akatsuki" before; did that mean he'd been working for a criminal organization?

"We believe your son might be in danger," the agent concluded. "If the Akatsuki came for him once, we're pretty sure they'll try to again or they might try to kill him."

"Kill him?!" his mother asked, tightening her hold on her son.

Yamato nodded. "He worked within their ranks and has spoken with the leader. Your son would be a very damning witness once the subjects are caught."

"What are you getting at?" Shikaku questioned, crossing his arms and glaring hard at the other man.

The agent stood a little straighter. "I am saying Shikamaru's life is in grave danger and precautions are being taken to ensure his survival."

"Such as?"

"We would like you to enter the witness protection program. The Bureau will move you to a safe location, you will be given new identities and start a new life."

The Nara's were silent, gazing at the agent with surprise.

"Leave Konoha?" Yoshino asked, biting her lip at the man's nod.

Shikamaru's eyes were wide. He'd watched television; he knew what it meant to be under witness protection. It meant he would leave everything and everybody behind … all because of him.

_This was all his fault._

Shikaku sighed. "When would you have us leave?"

Yoshino gasped at the question. "Shikaku!"

"Immediately," Yamato answered, ignoring the woman. "There are already people packing your things. As soon as Shikamaru is discharged tomorrow, agents will pick you up and take you to your new location."

"Wasting no time, I see," the older Nara commented.

"We can't give the Akatsuki a chance to harm your son. He is far too valuable and they know that."

The other nodded. "All right. We'll be ready." He held out his hand to silence his wife as she started to protest.

"Very well. Thank you for your cooperation and good luck." With a small wave, Yamato left the room, shutting the door behind him.

"Shikaku!" Yoshino hissed as he sat beside them on the bed. "Don't you think we should have discussed that before making a final decision?"

Shikamaru's father sighed. "There was nothing to discuss, Yoshino. Yamato was right; Shikamaru could very well be in danger and it would be better to leave the city as soon as possible. I don't want to, either," he stated, seeing the anger flare in his wife's eyes, "but it's the best thing for our son."

She bit her lip, looking away and slowly nodding.

"I'm sorry," Shikamaru whispered, gazing down at the sheets when his parents turned to him. "It's all because of me. I'm sorry I made such stupid decisions… I just…." Tears came to his eyes again and he couldn't keep them back. "I'm… _so_… _**sorry**_!" A small sob escaped his lips and he was immediately held against his mother's shoulder and she comfortingly rocked him, whispering softly to him while his father grasped his shoulders.

"Don't be," Shikaku whispered, gently massaging the flesh beneath the shirt his son was wearing. "Don't apologize, Shikamaru."

The teen turned to him, sniffing and wiping some tears off his face. "But… I've just ruined our lives."

His father's eyes widened a bit before he shook his head. "No, son. That isn't true. Listen to me," he held his son's shoulders firmly and looked straight into tear filled, sad eyes, "we are going to move away and do exactly as Yamato instructed; start over. We are going to be a family, Shikamaru, and your mother and I will be sure to do things right this time. You are our son and we love you."

Shikamaru couldn't stop the onslaught of tears that assaulted him, though it was because of a different feeling swelling within him. It made him feel so glad and lucky to have his parents; others would have given up on their child at this point. He wrapped his arms around his father's shoulders and happily wept into his torso. "I love you, too," he managed to say between sobs.

Yoshino came up and hugged her boys, holding them close and sharing a kiss with her husband and giving her son a kiss on his temple.

The teen now knew things would be all right and this move would ultimately be for the best, as long as his parents remained by his side and continued to support him through thick and thin, nothing could bother him again.

The morning came up fast. Before he knew it, Shikamaru had been poked awake and told to dress; his family would be leaving soon. He did as he had been told, sitting silently on the hospital bed as they awaited the arrival of the agents to take them away.

The teen could only think of one regret of leaving so suddenly and it made his heart ache badly. He had forced the blonde to have a bad experience, whether he meant to or not, and he would carry the guilt within his soul to the end of time, he knew.

Yoshino walked into the room, his father having a small get-together with his cop buddies in the cafeteria before they left. The smile that had been on her face quickly faded as she gazed at her son. She walked over and sat beside him, looking at him with concern. "What's the matter, Shikamaru?" she asked, softly.

The teen sniffed and looked down at his lap. "Nothing really, I just…." He paused, it wasn't easy to talk to his parents about stuff like this; he never had before. "I just want to talk to someone, but… I don't think he'll want to talk to me."

His mother rubbed his back, soothingly. "Naruto?" she guessed.

Shikamaru slowly nodded, proud he hadn't flinched at the sound of his name.

Yoshino smiled. "Room thirteen eighty-six," she whispered. "Down the hall, to the left."

The Nara teen gazed at her with questioning eyes; was this a smart thing to do? They were supposed to leave any minute.

As if reading his thoughts, she nodded. "I'll cover for you."

He smiled and bolted for the door. Shikamaru stopped when he reached it and looked back at his mother sitting on the bed. He walked back to her and kissed her on the cheek. "Thank you," he whispered, quickly disappearing into the hallway.

The room was easy enough to find; the door was wide open and he hesitantly poked his head inside. Minato was lying on the bed, one arm in a sling, and was talking with his son sitting on a chair beside him, smiling. Naruto was smiling, too, until he saw the Nara standing in the doorway.

Suddenly having two sets of beautiful blue gazes locked on him made Shikamaru nervous and he shifted his feet, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Hey," he whispered a lame greeting.

"Hey," Naruto returned, seeming to be just as nervous, but the other teen couldn't figure why.

Shikamaru, not wanting to spend more time than necessary merely standing there, moved toward the man on the bed. "How are you doing, Namikaze-sensei?" he asked, trying to ease the tension in the room.

The blonde man smiled, looking so much like his son… or was it the other way around? "I'm doing just fine, Shikamaru. Glad to see you didn't come to any harm."

He nodded, not knowing what else to say. His eyes kept flicking toward the other teen, lightly blushing when their gazes met.

Minato chuckled. "Would you like to talk with Naruto?" His son blushed as the Nara nodded. "Okay, then come stand over here," he gently commanded.

Shikamaru walked to the other side of the bed, where Naruto was sitting, an ankle in a large and awkward looking brace.

"I'm not even here," the principle said, pulling a curtain from the wall with his good hand to give them some privacy.

The Nara smirked and shook his head. _'How much do you wanna bet he'll listen anyway?'_ He wanted to ask that, but was too afraid it would blow up in his face. He turned to the blonde teen and swallowed, not sure how to begin.

"Uh, would you like to sit?" Naruto asked, pointing at a chair sitting against the wall.

He shook his head. "No, thanks. I feel like I've done enough lying down and sitting to last a lifetime."

The blonde smiled and looked away, eyes gazing at the floor.

Shikamaru sighed; it was now or never. "Look, I don't have a lot of time. I just wanted to say that… I'm sorry." Sky blue eyes looked up at him curiously. "I'm sorry that I put you in that situation, sorry I didn't make more of an effort to be sure you were taken care of, sorry… that I couldn't protect you like I should have." He gazed at the floor a moment, shifting his feet. "I know these things can't be forgiven, I just thought that you should know," he raised his eyes back to the blonde, "I'm sorry."

Slowly, Naruto smiled. "I don't blame you, Shikamaru," he finally voiced, looking a little nervous. "I'll admit that at first I thought it was your fault, but I talked it over with my dad and… he told me nobody could be everywhere at once." Strength came to his cerulean orbs, smile fading away. "_I'm_ sorry for yelling and hitting you. I didn't mean any of it, Shikamaru."

The Nara released a shaky breath; he wasn't expecting the blonde to apologize. "I could never stay angry with you," he whispered, looking out the window a moment, a comfortable silence settling around them. _'Should I?'_ he wondered, thinking about his next step. Time was running short.

"Was there something else you wanted to talk about?" Naruto asked.

Biting his bottom lip, Shikamaru nodded. "Yeah, uh…." He looked at the beautiful blonde sitting there, staring up at him and it twisted at his heart painfully, knowing he would probably never see the other teen again. He walked up to him and kneeled on the floor, wanting to be close as he spoke. "Naruto," he began, grabbing one of the blonde's hands, "you have been so important to me for a long time. I know I never said or did anything to try and pursue a relationship with you, but I treasured our friendship so much that I was afraid dating might have fucked up everything."

He sighed, fighting the tears as the words he didn't want to say came to him. "I'm leaving, Naruto. My parents and I are being placed into the witness protection program," sadness filled him at seeing the brightness within those brilliantly blue eyes fade away, "and I probably won't see you… ever again." Shikamaru swallowed hard, having a much more difficult time holding the tears at bay. "Before I go, I wanted to let you know that… I love you, Naruto. I will always love you and I will never forget you."

The blonde sat there, unmoving for a few moments. Tears came to his eyes, but he made no attempt to stop them, and the Nara watched as they fell down his cheeks, over a bandage on one side. The seconds passed slowly as he waited for Naruto to say something, anything to ease the uncertainty in his heart.

Naruto released a shaky breath, a sad smile crawling onto his lips. "I love you, too," he whispered, sniffing, "and you will be in my heart forever, Shikamaru. Nobody could replace you."

Shikamaru smiled, leaning up for a kiss. It was too short and filled with need, the blonde breaking down into sobs when they parted. He wrapped his arms around the other teen, holding him close for a moment. "Will you do me a favor, Naruto?" he asked softly, glad when he felt a nod against his chest. His heart clenched painfully even before the words left his mouth. "Please, don't wait for me."

Naruto pulled away and gave him a shocked look.

The Nara cupped his unharmed cheek. "I love you, but I don't want you to sit around and pine away for the rest of your life. I want you to find happiness, even… even if it's in somebody else's arms. Okay?"

Slowly, the blonde nodded, falling back into the other's arms again. "I'm going to miss you," he whispered.

"I'm going to miss you, too," he replied, tightening his hold a bit before releasing his precious blonde. "Good bye, Naruto." He stood and moved to the curtain, pushing it aside, lightly starting Minato. He jumped and wiped the tears from his face, trying to force a smile to his lips.

Shikamaru stuck out a hand to shake the man's good one, who immediately took it. "Good bye, Namikaze-sensei. Thanks for everything."

Minato nodded, sniffing. "No problem, Shikamaru. Good luck."

He released the other's hand and walked out of the room. _'Don't look back, don't look back, don't look back,'_ he thought, over and over, trying desperately to ignore the pain within his chest and the tears wanting to escape and never stop. He marched back to his room, where his father was talking with someone clad in black, his mother looking somewhat amused as he entered.

"There you are!" Shikaku said, walking up to his son. "Are you all right?" he asked, noticing the tearstains.

"Yeah," he nodded. "Can we go, before I change my mind?"

His parents smiled at him sadly. Together, they walked out of the hospital and climbed into a black sport utility vehicle and began their journey to a new city, new identity, and a new life.

This one Shikamaru was determined not to screw up.


End file.
